


Protector from Beyond the Grave

by ghost509



Series: Owl House AUs [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amity Blight Has a Crush on Luz Noceda, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda Angst, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda Fluff, Amity can't catch a break, Amity's parents are jerks, Angst, Bisexual Luz Noceda, Boscha is a simp, Boscha is thirsty af, College Student Amity Blight, Eda is also a Grim Reaper, Eda likes pulling pranks, Everyone else is a human, F/F, Flirting, Gay Amity Blight, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, He's actually a pretty nice guy if he likes you, Human AU, Jealous Amity Blight, Luz Noceda Needs a Hug, Luz Noceda is a Grim Reaper, Luz and Satan are friends, Luz is Deaths favorite Grim Reaper, Luz wants to protect Amity, Luz will throw hands with Satan if need be, Modern Era, Protective Luz Noceda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:41:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26807554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghost509/pseuds/ghost509
Summary: The (after)life of a Grim Reaper was simple; collect the souls of the lost and bring them back for judgement. On top of that, there are three rules you must follow. 1: No falling in love with a human. 2: Don't let a human see you. And, 3: Don't prevent the death of a human when it's their time. Unfortunately for Death, Luz Noceda was never one to follow the rules, and she's getting ready to break all three of them. The line between duty and loves starts to become blurry once she meets a human by the name of Amity Blight, heir to the much hated Blight throne. The two will find love in the most peculiar places, but will it be snatched away?
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Boscha/Willow Park
Series: Owl House AUs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955140
Comments: 105
Kudos: 396





	1. Luz Noceda: Grim Reaper, Girl Crusher

**Author's Note:**

> **HAPPY SPOOKY MONTH MY (B)WITCHES!**
> 
> **Was hoping to get this out on the 1st, but later is better than never I guess. Please read the author note at the end for more info regarding this story and the other stories I'll write due to my lack of self-control.**
> 
> **Crossposted on FFN.**

As ominous and dark gray clouds filled the skies over the city of Bonesborough, human and animal alike scurried for their lives as they tried finding shelter from the heavy rain that currently pelted and attacked the city and its residents. What once was a day of sun-filled happiness had quickly turned to a pouring shower of depression that affected everyone, and none more so than the Blight family as they took shelter in the Bonesborough funeral home.

Man and woman alike occupied the Bonesborough funeral home, and everyone was dressed in bleak black suits and dresses. Some sat in their seats and grieved to themselves or conversed in small groups scattered around the room. They were here to pay their respects to a family member that had, unfortunately, passed a mere week prior, and were getting ready to lay their body to rest.

“I’m sorry for your loss. Sorry for your loss. So, so sorry for your loss,” a girl spoke and apologized to every family member that she passed, giving her sympathies to them as they each tried their best to process the current situation. But alas, she received no form of acknowledgment in return, no stare out of the corner of the eye or even a small ‘thank you,’ and why would she? To them, she wasn’t even there.

The girl was unlike anyone else currently attending the funeral. Her skin tone was caramel compared to the pale white the rest of the Blight family shared. Her long brown hair peeked through the hood of her cloak; it was spikey and styled to point a bit to the right, and two long bangs framed her face and reached just below her shoulders. The girl’s big, hazel eyes scanned the room as she searched for her something, or in this case, someone. Her eyes landed on a dule, pale green figure standing over the opened casket and staring down at the body inside. With a small sigh, she walked over to him.

“Tony Blight!” she called out to the figure, who turned to her with wide, surprised eyes. He was a heavyset fellow who stood at a mere 5’6 without a single trace of hair on top of his head. He wore a suit that had probably been black when he was alive, but compared to his current appearance, was now a slightly darker shade of green. A small gasp escaped him as he stared at the girl. “My name is Luz Noceda. I’d like to talk to you.”

“You-You can see me?” he asked, a wide smile forming as he let out a loud, gleeful laugh full of relief. “You-You can see me! Haha! Finally! Can you please tell these guys to quit the act? The joke’s over, you guys! This little prank of yours stopped being funny days ago!” he called out to his family before walking towards one of the men sitting down. “Eddy! Edward, my main man! C’mon, let’s go get a drink!” he said while reaching for Edward’s wrist, but his green hand merely went through it. His smile faltered as he tried again and again to grab his brother’s wrist, but was met with the same result each time. The girl, Luz, frowned at his reaction; denial was a common reaction among the dead.

“He can’t see you, Mr. Blight. No one here can,” she informed him solemnly.

“But-But you can! How can you see me and they can’t? It makes no sense!” he exclaimed, turning to her with an agitated look as he demanded answers. She sighed before sticking one of her arms out of her cloak before concentrating, causing a scythe to form in her hand. He gaped at her, unable to process the sight before him. The black cloak that hid her body and the black pole with curved, metal blade in her hand could only mean one thing. “You…You’re a—“

“Grim Reaper, sir.” She nodded, planting the blunt end of her scythe into the ground. “Your soul has been wandering around for a week, Mr. Blight. I’ve been sent to collect you and bring you back for judgement.”

“No-No. That’s-That’s…” he trailed off, trying his best to convince himself this wasn’t real, that this was just some horrid dream he would awake from any second now. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes as his body started to shake, his breathing was coming out fast and erratic as he tried his best to refuse the truth. “Lydia!” he cried out suddenly before running away from Edward and towards a crying woman with long blonde hair and wearing a long, black dress that reached her ankles. He fell to his knees in front of the woman and reached out, his pale green hands merely going through her like they did Edward. Fresh tears were rolling down his cheeks as he tried again and again to grab onto his wife, wanting,  _ needing  _ her comforting touch now more than ever. “I-I’m sorry baby! I should’ve listened to you! I-I should’ve cut back on the smoking and the drinking and all that unhealthy food and I…I…” he choked back another sob, hugging himself since no one else could. Luz watched the scene with a sad gaze; moments like these were always hard to watch. “C-Can’t you do anything? M-Maybe put me back into my body? Or talk to god or something?” Tony asked desperately.

“I’m sorry sir, but it doesn’t work like that. The most I can do is bring you back for judgement. I’m sorry,” she said, feeling pity and sorrow for the old soul in front of her. “Please, take a few more minutes to say your goodbyes. It’s not much, but one last chance at closure is the most I can do for you.”

He sniffled, wanting to argue that this wasn’t right, that his time shouldn’t have come so quickly. He was only 50 for Christ’s sake! He wanted to plead, to beg for another chance at life, but the girl had already shot his hopes at a second chance down. Tony nodded sadly, feeling more defeated now than he ever did when he was alive. Turning to his wife, he wrapped his arms around her, his body aching for her gentle touch once more, or any touch, for that matter. “I’m so sorry, Lydia. I love you,” he said somberly, going to kiss her cheek before stopping himself. “What’s the point?” he sighed before moving away back towards his brother.

Luz waited by the casket, purposely staying out of earshot to give the old soul some privacy as he said his final goodbyes. After saying something to Eddy, he moved on to others, such as a young girl no older than eight, a set of twins, one boy and one girl, who appeared to be just a few years older than Luz herself, an old, wrinkly man who sat in a wheelchair with thick glasses and a balding head with a few strands of gray hair on top, and finally, a—

Luz felt her eyes widen a bit as Tony stood next and spoke to another girl, and if Luz had to guess, she and the girl were roughly the same age. Luz felt herself flush as her body heated up, causing her to pull at her cloak to get some air flow. The girl was…well, what wasn’t she? She was stunning, with glossy, pale skin hidden underneath a form-fitting black dress that reached just below her knees. She had short, brown hair with green roots that reached the nape of her neck, and beautiful, glowing golden eyes that seemed otherworldly. Luz didn’t notice the grip on her scythe tighten as she drank in the girl’s appearance, unable to find a single flaw with her. So caught up in looking at the girl, she didn’t notice Tony walking back to her until he cleared his throat, causing her to jump in surprise.

“I-I’m ready,” he said sadly, confusing Luz.

“Are you sure? You’ve only spoken to seven people.”

“Eh, the rest can rot in hell for all I care,” he said with a low growl, showing his disdain for his other living relatives.

_ ‘Don’t worry, some of them will,’  _ Luz thought, having firsthand knowledge on some of the Blights who’d eventually become Satan’s play things. Luz gripped her scythe in both hands and swung the tool backwards. “Tony Blight, I hereby declare you Free,” she said, slashing the bladed weapon through the soul before her. The reaction was instantaneous, the pale green soul fell to the floor and started to condense itself, shaping and molding until the once human figure became nothing more but a mere floating ball. Luz reached under her cloak and pulled out a small, green colored pouch. Opening the pouch up, she carefully grabbed the balled-up soul between her fingers and placed it inside before closing it back up. Satisfied with a job well done, she clipped the bag back to her belt and got ready to tear a hole back to The Void, but she found herself staring at the girl once more. She bit her lips, trying to find a reason to stay just a little while longer before sighing. “No, no, I need to get him back. I have a job to do,” she said to herself, already beginning to tear a portal back to The Void.

“If everyone could please be seated, my daughter Amity will deliver the eulogy before we lay my brother to rest,” a man spoke into the microphone on the podium besides Tony’s casket. He was an imposing figure who seemed to tower over the rest of his family. With slicked back brown hair, hard, unforgiving brown eyes, and a neatly trimmed goatee, to Luz it appeared as if he was looking down on everyone in the room. The sharp-black suit with blood-red tie he wore only added to his intimidation.

“Amity?” Luz asked herself, her eyes landing on the girl from before as she rose from her seat and made her way towards the podium. “Amity. Ami-ty. Amity, Amity, Amity.” The Reaper couldn’t help but giggle to herself; the name just felt  _ right  _ to say. The name just rolled off the tongue, didn’t? It was exotic,  _ unique _ , just like the girl it belonged to. “I…guess it wouldn’t hurt to stick around for a few more minutes,” Luz said, scythe disappearing from her hand as she floated above one of the seats. She crossed her legs and waited patiently for Amity to begin. 

“Thank you, father,” Amity said as her father went to go sit back down. Her tone was soft and warm, voice sweet and silky, it sent a small shiver down the Grim Reapers back. “I’m honored to speak about my dear Uncle Tony today. Uncle Tony was a good man, often helping out whoever needed it. Whether the problem was big or small, he was always there when you needed him. Uncle Tony would often watch my siblings and I when we were younger, when our parents were out on business trips. He was a sweet and kind man; he was like the father I never had,” she said, causing many, Luz included, to chuckle and laugh at what they thought was a joke. Amity’s eyes met her fathers, and she steeled herself against the hate-filled glare he was sending her way. She stared back at him, bored and uncaring, hoping her eyes told him what she was thinking; that it  _ wasn’t  _ a joke. “Uncle Tony had an amazing life. He was persistent, almost annoyingly so, but he fought tooth and nail to give his family a life they deserved, and helped make the city of Bonesborough what it is today. There will never be another man like Uncle Tony, and I’m honored to have known him. Thank you,” she finished with a small bow, and was met with a round of applause from most of the family. Even her father gave a few small claps, but she knew he didn’t mean it; he was just trying to seem like less of a cold, heartless bastard than he really was. Amity went back to her seat, unaware of the girl that floated beside her with a large grin.

“You two must’ve been really close. I’m sorry that his time came so soon, but rest assured, he’s going to a better place,” Luz said, trying to comfort her. Amity said nothing, didn’t even glance her way, causing the Latina to sigh. “Oh, uh, right. You can’t see or hear me…I-I should really get going and bring him back for judgement. I guess I’ll see you around?”

Again, she received no form of acknowledgement from the brunette, causing her to slap her forehead a few times. “She can’t see or hear you, dumby. C’mon Noceda, get your head out of the clouds,” she growled to herself, standing up from her floating before summoning her scythe. She readied to open the portal, but noticed everyone began to stand as they closed the casket, readying to lay the body to rest. She stared at Amity and noticed her quickly wipe away a single tear. “Well, I guess a  _ few  _ more minutes wouldn’t hurt, just so I can be here for you…”

The scythe disappeared from her hands once more, and she followed closely behind Amity as she and her family exited the building and went to the cemetery behind it. The rain had stopped sometime while they were in the funeral home, but the dark gray clouds still lingered above. A priest was there, and he delivered a sermon for Tony before he was lowered into his grave. Luz stayed beside Amity the whole time, wishing she could truly be there to comfort the girl as she held back her emotions. She was obviously suffering from the loss; the sadness and pain were hidden behind her blank gaze, locked away. Why she wasn’t showing it, Luz hadn’t a clue.

Once the casket had been lowered and covered, the family began to disperse from the area, with some heading home to continue the healing process while others went home just to get away from the family members they despised. Luz stayed with Amity as she stared at the tombstone, hands clenched and shaking, black nails digging into her flesh as she held back the tears of pain. The crunching of falls leaves behind caught their attention, and the two turned to see Amity’s father and a woman who Luz assumed to be her mother walking towards the girl.

“Are these your parents? Well obviously  _ he  _ is; he called you ‘daughter’ and you called him ‘father,’ obviously, but is that your mom? Wow, you kinda look like her,” Luz said, staring at the older woman. Like the man, she stood tall and proud. An aura of authority surrounded her, demanding everything be perfect. She, too, had brown hair, but it was much longer and reached the middle of her back, and unlike Amity, she had brown eyes. Her skin didn’t show a hint of any sort of wrinkle or other blemish, and she wore a dress that reached down to her ankles. They both seemed quite intimidating, in Luz’s opinion.

“Daughter, are you finished with your ‘grieving’ yet? Your mother and I have much to discuss with you,” her father said evenly, not letting any sort of emotion show. Luz frowned at that; why did the three seem to be such robots?

“I’m not in the mood right now for the discussion the two of you want to have. This isn’t the time nor the place; just leave so I can say my final goodbye to Uncle Tony,” Amity said with a harsh stare, surprising Luz. That seemed…a bit mean, didn’t it?

“Oh please, daughter, I saw this coming from a mile away. My brother was a pig riddled with diseases; it was only a matter of time before his time,” her father scoffed, causing Luz to gasp in shock.

“Whoa! What the hell man? That’s your  _ brother  _ you’re talking about!” she exclaimed as Amity growled in anger.

“Listen to us daughter, and listen well. We’ve been patient with you and your little ‘rebellious’ phase that Tony steered you towards, but he’s  _ gone  _ now. He’s no longer here to hold your hand and guide you down the wrong path,” her mother said.

“It’s only the ‘wrong path’ because it means I no longer have to be your little puppet. I’m forging my  _ own  _ path now, so quit bothering me about it!”

“We’re still willing to pay for your schooling, daughter. Now quit being like Tony and  _ stop  _ being an embarrassment to this family!”

A sudden slap echoed through the cemetery, scaring away the little birds and animals that were nearby. Luz gasped, her eyes widening as she stared as the bright red hand print on the side of Mrs. Blight’s cheek. She could see Amity’s were surprised as well, and they stared at her as she shook with rage.

“Have you two no shame? No ounce of decency or human kindness? I’m used to this  _ bullshit  _ when we’re alone, but we’re at Uncle Tony’s funeral, for  _ God’s _ sake! Can’t either of you go a day without being such heartless bastards?!” Amity shouted at them, tired of their bad mouthing of Uncle Tony. With a growl she shoved her way past them and headed towards the parking lot, and Luz stared between both parents before walking past them.

“I’ll just, uh, go with her and make sure she gets home safe…” Luz trailed off before running after the human girl.

**(15 minutes later)**

“So then Abe  _ knocks  _ out JFK with a right hook, ending the fight. This just goes to show that you always bet on the guy with the bigger beard,” Luz finished her story with a small laugh, slapping her knee as she finished retelling her story of the boxing match between the two US presidents. She could still remember George Washington’s commentary throughout the whole fight; she was aching for the upcoming rematch.

But Amity paid no attention to the Reaper sitting in her passenger seat, and how could she? To her, she was all alone with her thoughts. She ground her teeth together, grip tightening around the steering wheel of her black Audi. She knew her parents could be cold and ruthless; she had spent 18 years living with them, after all, but to speak with such hatred towards a family member who had never done  _ anything  _ remotely evil or wrong in their whole life, at their own  _ funeral  _ no less, was a whole new level of cruel Amity shouldn’t have been surprised by.

“Stupid fucking,  _ gaaah _ ! Why are they such  _ assholes? _ !” she asked herself, accidentally interrupting Luz as she was readying to tell her next story about the arm-wrestling match between Steve Irwin and Paul Walker. With a small grunt she pulled over and stopped the car before getting out. Luz poked her head through the car’s roof and stared at the simple apartment complex they had arrived at. It was made of brown and brown bricks, with countless windows and balconies scattered throughout. The building was only four stories tall, but what it lacked in height it made up for in width. The complex was long and turned at a right angle; it reminded her of some college buildings she’s had to visit while on the job.

“Is this where you live?” Luz asked, eyeing the building. “Not entirely what I was imagining for someone driving an Audi, but maybe you’re into the simpler things in life? It’s cute! I like—“ she started to say, but was cut off by the slamming of a door. She stared at the door Amity had just gone through. “—it. O-Okay, nice meeting and talking to you! You’re a much better listener than the others!” she called out, before slapping her forehead a few times. “Soy una idiota! What am I even doing here? How the hell did I end up on the other side of town with a girl I've only known for like, 30 minutes?” She sighed, knocking her hood off before scratching at her head aggressively, annoyed. Exiting through the car’s door, she summoned her scythe before slashing at the air, causing a swirling green portal to open. Casting one last glance at the girl’s apartment building, Luz sighed before stepping through.

**(The Void)**

Luz whistled a tune to herself as she walked towards the large, gothic-styled castle that sat in the middle of The Void, which was the Grim Reaper equivalent of heaven or hell. The Void is where Grim Reapers lived until they either retired or were fired. The Void was much like a town or small city, filled with apartment buildings for the lesser experienced or new Reapers; this is where they stayed until they were called out on collection duty. The more experienced or older Reapers had houses to themselves, as a show of appreciation for doing good jobs or for staying around so long. There were also other buildings and other amenities scattered around, used to raise morale and make some Reapers more comfortable. Of course, the houses and apartments were fairly worthless, as most Reapers were always out collecting lost souls. 

Luz walked up to the castle and knocked several times on the oversized, black wooden doors and waited patiently to be answered. Soon, one of them slid open, revealing a tiny red demon. Her full-body frame was quite petite, having the size and appearance of a small child, although her hands and feet were shaped like bird talons, and she had large pointy ears and dark red claws. Instead of hair, a large dark turquoise hand covered her head, with light turquoise talons acting as bangs that cover her right eye. Her remaining left eye was round, with a dark-brown iris and a yellow sclera. The hand-hair ended in a hand-like bun tied at the back of her head with a black scrunchy, giving her hair the appearance of conjoined hands. Her attire consisted of a white robe with grayish-yellow highlights, a collar that obstructed her mouth with a yellow band going around her neck, and a triangular-shaped shoulder area. Beneath this robe was a dark gray tunic fastened with black wrist bands.

“You were gone far longer than was expected. Run into any trouble?” the little demon asked snidely, stepping aside to let Luz enter. Luz rolled her eyes and walked past.

“I don’t answer to you Kiki; remember that,” she called back to the demon girl as she walked towards another set of large doors, these ones made of blackened metal with skulls as doorknobs. She breathed in and breathed out before grabbing each handle and opening the door.

She was met with a large room, pitch black, with the only source of light being the stone table that sat directly in the middle of the room. Behind the table sat a figure in a large stone throne, illuminated by the pale green light emitting from the table; the figure wore a simple black cloak which hid every inch of its body.

“Luz,” the figure spoke in a deep and gravelly tone, which would scare most people, but Luz could only grin as she approached.

“Death,” she greeted the figure before her with a small smile before unclipping the bag from her belt. She set it neatly on the table before taking a few steps back.

Death, ruler of The Void, the original Grim Reaper. Death had been the Grim Reaper from the beginning, before retiring some millions of years ago. Now the ruler relied on help to collect lost souls and bring them in for judgement.

With a flick of its finger, the bag opened and out flew the small green ball. The ball expanded and took shape, until the figure of Tony Blight stood in the middle of the table. He looked around at the new environment he found himself in, but his eyes stopped and lingered on the cloaked figure before him.

“Tony Blight,” Death said, sending a small shudder down Tony’s back. “Born in 1970 to a single mother, you would often protect the weaker kids from bullies while growing up. At 18 you saved a neighbor’s son from their burning home, at 23 you were stabbed after stopping an attempted rape. At 35 you had millions to your name, but donated much of it to several charities around the world, and at 46 you gave your brother Alador your left kidney in order to save his life. These are but a mere few of the good deeds you’ve done over your life, and not once did you ever ask for something in return.”

“How-How do you know all of that?” Tony asked, amazed that the figure knew all of that. It was funny, considering he himself had forgotten he had done a few of those things.

“I am Death. I am all knowing, and I. Am.  **Judgement** ,” Death said while extending its arms out to its sides, revealing skeletal hands. “For the good you’ve done throughout your life, you shall be rewarded. I sentence you to heaven,” Death said, and the once pale green light from the table turned a bright white. Tony shuddered out a breath he was unaware that he had been holding and fell to his knees.

“T-Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Tony said repeatedly, showing how truly grateful he was for the honor. The white light swallowed Tony whole, teleporting him to the gates of heaven before it turned back to its original pale green.

“You’ve done well today, Luz. Please, take the rest of the day off as thanks,” Death said, causing Luz to grin widely.

“Thank you Death, I appreciate it,” she said with a small bow. She turned and started to walk away, but was stopped soon after.

“One last thing before you go,” Death called out, causing Luz to stop in her tracks. “Kikimora has informed me that you took much longer than expected to return. Why is this?” Death asked, causing Luz to quietly growl to herself in annoyance.

_ ‘That dumb bitch,’  _ she thought before turning back to Death with an apologetic smile. “I apologize for my tardiness, Death, but I was distracted by a stray kitten after I collected Tony’s soul.”

“A stray kitten?” Death asked. “Is it okay?”

“Yes Death, I managed to help the kitten find her way back home. She’s in safe hands now,” Luz said, causing Death to let out a small laugh and a sigh of relief.

“That’s great to hear, thank you, Luz. I apologize for doubting you; please, continue on with your day,” Death said, causing Luz to nod before turning back around and leaving through the door.

Death chose to ignore the sound of Kikimora’s screams that soon followed.

**(Several minutes later: The Owl House)**

“Edaaaaaa…I have a problem.”

“Where’s the body? If we leave now, we can hide it before anyone finds it,” Eda said, finishing mixing hers and Luz’s drinks before slapping the glass beside the younger Reaper’s head, which she currently had rested against the kitchen table. The glass was small with a few ice cubes and a light brown liquid inside.

“No, it’s not that. You know how I feel about killing,” Luz sighed before sitting up and grabbing the glass. They clanked them together before taking a drink.

Edalyn “Eda” Clawthorne was a tall, slender woman with ivory skin, maroon lips, and two different colored eyes, one gray and the other gold. Her untamed hair was thick, long, and layered, mainly gray but with two long, thick white stripes on either side. She had a single golden fang that stuck out past her lips and orange claw-like nails. She wore a sleeveless two-tone maroon dress with a ripped-like hem design and gray leggings, and maroon high-heeled boots.

Eda was a Grim Reaper long before Luz became one, and a damn good one from the stories she had told Luz. Eda had obtained her own home, which she designed to look like something you’d see from a TV show or movie about witches, with crystal balls, bubbly caldrons, and more. There were also plenty of small carvings of owls scattered throughout the home. Eda had a soft spot for the bird, yet Luz had no clue why; in fact, there were plenty of things she  _ didn’t  _ know about Eda. The older woman was quite private about her life before.

Luz had met Eda soon after first becoming a Grim Reaper, and begged her to teach her the ropes. At first Eda denied her, but Luz weakened her resolve. and Eda eventually took the Latina girl under her cloak. The two were now great friends; hell, they considered each other family. Luz was always welcomed at the ‘Owl House,’ as Eda called it, which is where she spent most of her free time when she wasn’t traveling around the human world out of boredom or curiosity.

“Then what is it? Are those angel pricks giving you trouble again? I swear I’ll pluck their stupid wings again if I have to!”

“No! No, it’s nothing like that, I promise! Instead of coming straight back to Death after collecting a soul, I spent 30 or so minutes following a human around. I don’t know why, though! I just felt… _ compelled _ to do it, ya know?” she sighed before taking another drink. “What do you think’s wrong with me?”

“How does this human make you feel?”

“I don’t know, flustered I guess? She seemed nice and was really pretty…” she trailed off, taking another sip to distract herself. She didn’t notice the small smirk Eda.

“Sounds like someone has a crush,” she said with a small, teasing smile, causing Luz to choke on her drink.

“What?! That’s ridiculous! I mean she was beautiful yes, but I barely know her! How could I possibly have a crush?” Luz asked, causing Eda to shrug.

“You don’t need to know someone to be crushing on them kiddo. But some advice? Drop it and drop her; you know the rules around here. I don’t need my favorite Reaper getting in trouble because she couldn’t keep it in her pants,” Eda said, causing Luz to snort.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But c’mon, the world is  _ gigantic _ . What are the odds I see her again?”

Luz would soon find the odds were  _ not  _ stacked in her favor.


	2. Rule Breaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What starts as an ordinary night takes a tragic turn. A decision must be made. What will Luz choose?

Several days have passed since the funeral of Tony Blight, and another hail of heavy rain pours over the city of Bonesborough, drenching those who were unlucky enough to be walking out this late at night. The mood in the city was gloomy, and no one was feeling the gloom more than Luz Noceda.

As far as she could remember, one of Luz's least favorite places to go and collect lost souls were prisons. They reeked of depression and despair as prisoners awaited their freedom, either from their prison shackles finally being undone or from a sharp blade slicing sideways through their throats. At the end of the day, freedom was freedom, and to some, a swift death was far better than years of pain and suffering at the hands of the guards and fellow prisoners.

Luz had been at the Bonesborough maximum-security prison for 10 minutes now, and so far, the search for the lost soul she had been sent to collect had proved to be unsuccessful. The Grim Reaper walked through the bleak and colorless halls of gray brick and black bars, peering into every cell that she passed to see if the soul had taken refuge where it used to slumber. She had searched almost everywhere: the prison cells, courtyard, cafeteria, even the bathrooms, and yet she hadn't seen hide nor hair of the soul she was here for. She walked towards the final place she had yet to search, a room cut off from the rest of the prison by a pair of double oak doors. Above them hung a plaque that read in big, bold letters, " **Execution Chamber** ".

She stepped through the doors and into the viewing area, which was littered with several black leather chairs sitting atop a white tiled floor. The walls were painted white, and in the middle of one wall sat a large window, allowing her to look inside the actual execution chamber itself. There she saw a ghostly green figure sitting in a wooden, brown chair, blackened and charred from obvious overuse. The figure had one leg rested over the other and was twiddling his thumbs in his lap. The figure was a skinny male who, even while sitting, Luz could tell was at least 6 foot even. His head was full of short hair that was now a dark shade of green. He wore a jumpsuit that had been orange in his previous life, but was now a darker shade of green. She sighed, happy that her search was now over, and walked through the window into the room where her target sat.

"Billy Bakerman. I've been looking for you," Luz said as she approached him, scythe forming in the palm of her hand. Billy smiled as she approached and stood up from the chair.

"Judging by the cloak and scythe, I assume you're the Grim Reaper? Funny, I never would've thought a woman could handle so much power," he said with a smooth tone and slow pace, his accent definitely coming from somewhere in the southern United States. Luz held back a growl of irritation that was just begging to be let out; she always hated getting lost souls like this.

"Sexism, how charming." She rolled her eyes in annoyance before gripping her scythe with both hands; the sooner she did this, the sooner this asshole would be out of her hair. "Billy Bakerman, I hereby declare you, Free," she said, taking just a small amount of joy as she ripped through the soul with her bladed weapon. Like Tony, the soul of Billy collapsed on itself before becoming a small glowing, floating ball. Unclipping the soul bag from her belt, Luz grabbed onto the floating ball before tucking it inside. With her job done, she sliced through the air and created a portal before walking through it.

**(The Void)**

The doors to Death's castle opened as she approached, allowing Luz to enter. She walked past a bandaged Kiki and smiled to herself as the smaller demon glared daggers in her direction. She didn't know why, but for some reason it seemed like Kiki always had it out for her, always trying to get her in trouble with Death at seemingly every opportunity that presented itself. Perhaps it was because she was friends with Eda? The older Reaper was a known prankster and a (loveable) menace across the three realms, so maybe Eda had pranked Kiki so bad the demon had started to despise Eda, which in-turn made her despise Luz for being friends with her? It was just a theory, of course, but it made the most sense, as Luz had never done anything wrong to Kiki.

Luz swung the doors open to Death's chamber and walked inside, heading straight for Death like she always did. The old pile of bones sat in its throne like it always did; rarely did anyone ever see Death leave its throne, much less its realm. In all of Luz's years of being a Grim Reaper, she had only seen Death leave a handful of times, and that was because it had to meet with God and Satan to discuss and vote on important matters.

"Hello Luz. I trust your search went well?" Death asked as she approached.

"Of course." Luz nodded before unclipping her soul bag and resting it in the center of Death's table. "One fresh soul for my favorite boss," she said with a small grin.

"I'm your only boss, Luz. But I appreciate your words nonetheless," Death said, and if it didn't have its cloak on, Luz knew for sure it would be smiling. It was no secret that Death held a special place in its chest cavity for Luz, an accusation that Death always denied as favoring any one Reaper over the others would be inappropriate and unjust.

Death raised its hand and flicked its finger, forcing the soul bag to open before the soul of Billy floated out and formed on the table. Billy looked around at the strange and new environment he found himself in before his eyes landed on the cloaked figure sitting before him. He shuddered slightly upon seeing the dark, black void that stared back at him. "Billy Bakerman. At the tender age of 9 you nearly killed another boy by repeatedly hitting him in the head with a rock and left him with permanent brain damage. At 14 you abducted several animals from your neighbors and slowly tortured them before killing them. At 22, you cut the brakes of the car of the girl you fancied after she rejected you, causing her to get into an accident that resulted in her being permanently paralyzed from the waist down. And yet, all those evil deeds pale in comparison as to why you're standing here before me now," Death spat out, venom laced in its already rough and gravelly tone.

"Today, you were put down by the humans via the electric chair for your crimes against humanity. You committed an act so disturbing, so heinous, so cruel, that it even makes a shudder run down the back of God; cannibalism. From the ages of 29 to 33, you've abducted, killed, and consumed several women across the southern United States. Your judgment in the human world was swift and just, and mine won't be any different. Billy Bakerman, you shall be punished for your heinous crimes. I sentence you to _**hell**_." Death's voice boomed and echoed around the room as it gave its final verdict. Luz smiled, watching as Deaths flicked its glowing green hand, happy this scumbag was getting his just desserts. But her smile quickly vanished as she watched, confused, as the soul of Billy turned into a ball and flew back into the soul bag instead of being teleported straight to hell.

"Death? What happened? How come you didn't send him to hell?" Luz asked, confused while cocking her head to the side.

"I apologize Luz, but the teleporter has been on the fritz all day today. I hate to ask, but would you kindly take Billy to hell for me? I would greatly appreciate it."

"Of course! It'll be nice to see DS again; it's been a while," she said while grabbing the soul bag from the table before clipping it back to her belt. She slashed through the air, opening another portal.

"You know he hates being called that," Death said, causing Luz to laugh.

"I know, but it's fun making him mad," Luz replied as she walked through, leaving Death to chuckle to itself.

**(Hell)**

Hell was exactly like most would imagine it as: never-ending roads paved with sharp, rusty nails, broken glass, and caked with the flesh and blood of those who had to walk across it; pools of lava scattered around seemingly every few feet; and high in the air flew arch demons, the highest-ranking demons that served under Satan himself. Most were huge, with giant and spikey red-and-black bat wings sprouting from their backs and long, sometimes-twisted horns protruding from their heads. Most differed in appearance, but they all shared the same purpose: torture those who were sent here. Whether it be by dunking them in lava, tearing off their limbs and munching on them in front of the damned soul, or spearing them with their trishuls, or tridents, as many English speakers called them, these demons got their job done and did so with manic glee.

In the very middle of Hell sat the Devil's castle, and it was modeled much like Death's, albeit the Devil's castle was blood-red compared to Death's castle, which was pure, nightmare black. Gargoyles sat along the edges of the castle, and around the castle lay a moat of lava that was always filled with new and fresh victims. Their screams of pain and agony often brought great joy to the leader of Hell himself.

Luz approached the castle and stared at the large, wine red doors that kept unwanted guests out. She knocked on the door several times and took a step back. She was forced to wait almost a full minute before one of the doors opened.

"Ms. Noceda, it's a pleasure to see you again," a deep, British voice greeted her from down below. Luz was met with the sight of a black Bombay cat with piercing red eyes, who wore a little black and white tuxedo and stood on its hindlegs. Luz squealed happily as she bent down and scooped the cat in her arms.

"William! It's been so long! How's my favorite demon cat doing?" she cooed while nuzzling the demon cats' neck. William rolled his eyes and gave a quick nuzzle back before squirming out of the girls grasp and landing back on the ground.

"Quite well, thank you for asking," William said as he flattened out his little suit, and Luz had to fight back another squeal at just how cute he was. "Follow me, please. Death called us ahead of time to let us know about your arrival; the master is quite eager to see you again," William used his tail to gesture for Luz to follow, and she did so without question.

The second she entered the castle the doors behind her closed, and the sounds of horror-filled screaming from outside was quickly overwhelmed by the soft melody of a piano from somewhere inside the castle. She followed close behind William, staring at the countless paintings that hung from the walls and the bright chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. Various shades of red littered and covered every square inch of every room and hallway William led her through. The place hadn't changed much since her last visit.

It didn't take long before Luz was standing in front of a set of large doors, these ones made of cherry red metal with little demon heads as doorknobs, their ruby eyes gleaming from the bright lights above. William stepped off to the side and bowed while gesturing to the door. "The master awaits you; best to not keep him waiting."

"Why thank you, good sir," Luz said with an overly posh and phony British accent as she, too, gave a small bow to the demon cat. She giggled to herself as William gave a small hiss of annoyance before she grabbed both doorknobs and swung the double doors open.

The room she entered was unlike any other room inside the castle's walls. Everything was white, from the high ceilings, to the painted walls, to the tiled floors. There was little red in the room besides from the countless paintings hung around, the racks of wine bottles scattered around the room, and the crackling fireplace in the far back. In the middle of the room sat a large white grand piano with red and gold accents, and there at the piano's bench sat a lone figure, adorned in an entirely white tuxedo with matching gloves.

With a chiseled jaw, strong cheekbones, a skinny body but fit physique, slicked back, jet black hair, and deep, void-like black eyes with red irises, the Devil was someone many would consider handsome… that was, if his red skin, the red horns protruding from his forehead, and pointed, skinny tail weren't deal breakers. The head honcho of Hell had a small, warm smile as he was sucked into playing his piano, unaware of his newly acquired audience until she made herself known.

"Hi DS! Long time, no see!" Luz shouted abruptly, interrupting his concentration and causing him to press on the wrong key, ruining the flow of the song. The Devil looked up from the keys. a small, albeit slightly annoyed smile forming as he stared at Luz,.

"Ah, Fresh Meat, it's been far too long. How have you been?" he asked before continuing his song.

Fresh Meat was something the Devil had called Grim Reapers when they were first starting out, but now it was specifically a nickname for Luz and Luz alone. It was payback for her calling him by his initials, DS. The Devil's full name, one might ask? Devil Satan, although he much preferred being addressed as Satan. He still had no idea where the name 'Lucifer' had come from.

"Eh, as fine as a Grim Reaper can be. I collect souls and try and make sure Eda doesn't push Death's buttons too much." Luz shrugged as she reached under her cloak and unclipped the soul bag. "I have a present for you; one fresh soul, courtesy of Death itself."

"A present for little ole me? Why, how generous. It's not even my birthday," Satan grinned from his seat and stood up. The piano started to play itself as he walked towards the Reaper. "Who have you brought for me this time?" he asked as Luz handed him the soul bag. He opened it eagerly and watched as the balled-up soul floated out and transformed into the figure of Billy.

But Billy was no longer the pale green that he once was when he was a lost soul. You see, lost souls only have their green appearance when they're wandering around Earth. Once a soul has been collected and sentenced, whether it be to heaven or hell, the soul takes on its original human look. So now, instead of being a see-through soul of green coloring, Billy had his tanned skin and body once again.

"Billy Bakerman, serial killer and cannibal. He was sentenced to death today by the humans," Luz informed the ruler of Hell, who grinned as he stared at the man before him.

"Ah yes, I've read his file. You know, it's quite interesting how he would go about eating his meals. He'd save the brains and eyeballs for last, but would _never_ touch the feet. Shame too; I thought he was a man of culture." Satan shrugged with a small sigh, causing Luz to let out a mock noise of disgust.

"He also made quite a rude and sexist comment directed towards me," Luz added, causing Satan's gaze to snap back to her.

"He _what?_ " he asked, causing Billy to roll his eyes.

"C'mon, it's not my fault she can't handle the—" he started to say before something suddenly wrapped tightly around his throat and lifted him into the air, cutting off his flow of air.

"The cannibalism I can deal with; it's the blatant sexism where I draw the line, _especially_ when it's directed towards my favorite Reaper here," the ruler of the underworld growled angrily. The index finger of his right hand started to glow black, and with it he bent down and cut open a portal in the tiled floor. The portal was pitch black, but glowing red eyes stared back at them. "This pit holds several Átahsaia's, cannibalistic demons that haven't had anything to eat for thousands of years. I was originally gonna throw you in a pool of lava, maybe poke you with a spear here and there for funsies, but you've crossed a line that not even _I_ dare cross. Have fun being a snack for all of eternity," Satan said before casually tossing Billy into the portal, which closed just as he began screaming in pain from being torn limb from limb. "Ugh, I feel filthy just being near him," he said with a small shudder.

"Pfft, I'm your favorite Reaper? Is the 'greater ruler of hell' going soft on me?" Luz teased, causing Satan to roll his eyes.

"Oh please, you're only my favorite because you annoy me the least. But if anyone messes with you again, you tell me, got it? No one gets to make fun of you except for me," he said, causing Luz to snort. "Are you still on duty? Perhaps I can interest you in a drink?" he asked before snapping his fingers, causing a bottle of wine and two glasses to appear next to him. The bottle opened itself before pouring its contents inside the two floating glasses.

"Sorry, but I gotta get back to work. Besides, you know Death doesn't like me drinking; it says I'm 'too young,'" she scoffed at the thought. She was just thankful Eda and Satan didn't share the same thoughts as Death and not only let her, but _encouraged_ her to partake in 'adult activities' like drinking.

"Death still has a bone up its ass I see. A pity. Well, make sure to drop by the next time you're off the clock. Also—" Satan started to say, but was cut off by a sudden ringing. He sighed, the tip of his tail dragging across the floor and opening another portal before it dove in. His tail coiled around and brought out an old timey candlestick telephone, the earpiece of which he grabbed before bringing it up to his ear. "Hello? Ah, Death! How's my favorite bag of bones doing? Hmm? Yes she's still here. Of course! It's for you," Satan said as he passed the phone to Luz.

"Death? Is everything okay?"

"Ah Luz, there you are. Yes everything is quite all right. I just have another collection job for you. There's been a car accident on the outskirts of Bonesborough; one of the drivers has already died and the other is close to the end. Would you kindly collect them and bring them back for judgement? I would highly appreciate it."

"Of course! I'll head over there right now and collect them."

"Thank you, Luz. Give Satan my best regards," Death said before ending the call. Luz handed Satan back his phone, prompting the ruler of hell to casually and haphazardly toss it back down into the portal, much like he had with Billy before.

"Another job?" Satan asked, causing Luz to sigh and nod.

"A Reaper's work is never done," she said while summoning her scythe. "I'll talk to you some other time. You still have poker nights every Friday, right?" she asked while slicing the air and creating a portal.

"Yes, but bring Eda this time. That little minx won't pull the wool over my eye this time around," he said, causing Luz to nod in understanding before she walked through the portal.

**(Outskirts of Bonesborough)**

Rain continued pouring down upon the city of Bonesborough for the fifth day in a row. The animals of the forest were currently trying to take shelter from the onslaught of falling droplets. On the outskirts of the city sat two cars smashed into one another; and outside of them were two figures, one standing and the other on her knees, sobbing and hugging herself.

"Courtney Jones, I hereby declare you, Free," Luz said as she slashed through the soul of Courtney Jones, a once beautiful girl who had just hit the ripe age of 23 only several months ago. Unlike Billy, Luz had no satisfaction as she watched the soul collapse upon itself and turn into a floating ball. She sighed while plucking the ball out of the air and placing it inside her bag; she always hated collecting the souls of the young. To be so young and have your whole life ahead of you to look forward to, only for it to be snatched away in the blink of an eye was cruel. It was fate, it was destiny, but it was cruel nonetheless.

"And now, I wait for you," Luz said as she directed her gaze towards the smoking wreckage of the two cars that had smashed into one another. Smoke slowly rose from the wreckage as the lights of both vehicles blinked off and on, illuminating the area. From what Courtney had told her, a deer ran out in the middle of the road and she swerved to the right to avoid it. What Courtney hadn't realized was that another car was in the other lane, and her swerving to avoid the deer caused the two to crash into one another. It was a noble act, Luz would give Courtney that, but in the end it cost the girl her own life, and the soon to be life of another.

She made her way towards the smoking wreckage, staring at the scattered car parts and broken glass that littered the ground. One piece in particular caught her attention as the blinking lights made it shine upon the other wreckage, and she squatted down to get a better look. It was the grill of one of the vehicles, and on the front of it sat four rings, each interlocking with one another. "Heh, well would you look at that. You know, Amity…drove one of these…" she trailed off, eyes widening in realization before her attention snapped back to the wreckage. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no," she repeated, standing up from her examination before rushing towards the collided cars. She stared through the window and at the driver's seat, and she felt her stomach drop at the sight.

There she was, Amity Blight, the girl that had invaded Luz's every waking thought for the past several days since she had first laid eyes on her. The girl was sitting in the driver's seat, unconscious, her once perfect and flawless skin now cut and torn from the glass that had attacked her from the crash. From what Luz could see, the girl was hardly breathing; a chest injury from the crash perhaps?

"Fuck. _Fuck_!" she exclaimed, experiencing a mix of shock and anger as she walked towards the driver-side door. "Why did it have to be you? Out of everyone else, why did your time have to come so soon?" she asked, knowing it was pointless as no one, not even Death, knew why someone's time came whenever it did. "It's not fair! You had your whole life ahead of you! You-You didn't deserve this. I-I gotta do something," she said, fists balled and teeth digging into her bottom lip. The Reaper pushed herself away from the car and started to pace.

"You can't do anything, it's against the rules! You could get in serious trouble if Death found out. But I could just not tell Death? No, that wouldn't work; Death said there'd be two souls to collect! But it wouldn't be the first time someone survived the odds." Luz scratched at her head in irritation as she argued with herself on the best course of action.

She was a Grim Reaper; her duty was to collect the souls of the dead and bring them back to Death for judgment. She wasn't allowed to interfere with the natural order of things, and that included preventing the death of someone when it was their time.

But beneath the cloak, she was still human at her core. She still had thoughts and feelings, and even though Amity didn't know she existed, she still felt a _connection_ to the girl. She wanted to watch the girl grow and live a long, happy life, even if she wasn't a part of it. She wanted to see the girl happy.

Luz stared at the girl once more, and she had to ask herself: was she going to be loyal to Death? Or her heart?

She grunted to herself, her mind finally made up as she turned herself tangible, feeling the rain start pelting her cloak as she summoned her scythe in her hand. The cold steel of her blade sliced through the door, allowing her to grab the edges and pull it apart. Reaching over Amity, she unbuckled the girl before grabbing her under the arms and gingerly pulling her out before resting her on the ground.

"I am _so_ sorry about this. Massive invasion of privacy, I know, but it's to save your life, so…I think you'd be okay with that?" Luz said as she started to rummage around Amity's pocket, searching for her phone. When she finally felt it she pulled it out. The screen was cracked in several places, but it was still usable, thankfully. When a prompt popped up asking for a passcode, Luz used her powers and watched as her index finger glowed a dark green. She swiped across the screen, her powers allowing her to bypass the needed passcode and letting her access her phone. She grabbed Amity's hand and gave a soft, reassuring squeeze as she called 9-1-1. "You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay," she repeated, unsure who she was trying to reassure more.

Amity's eyes fluttered open and she winced at how much pain she was in. She stared up at the girl who had saved her, and who hadn't noticed she was awake. The last things Amity saw were caramel skin and big, beautiful brown eyes before the darkness consumed her once more.

**(Bonesborough hospital. Several hours later.)**

Even before becoming a Grim Reaper, Luz had always hated hospitals. And why wouldn't she? The heavy smell of disinfectant and other cleaning products used throughout the building was suffocating, and the constant, never-ending beeps of all the machinery were enough to drive anyone mad. On top of that, they held nothing but bad memories for the poor girl. They were a second home to her on account of her always injuring herself and breaking bones with the countless fun, albeit stupid activities she did as a child. But even in death, they were still her home away from home; she had lost count of how many times she was forced to sit inside these white halls and rooms of despair, waiting for humans to take their final breath before collecting their soul.

But even with her hatred and disdain of them, she forced herself to stay for Amity. The brunette was currently in a hospital bed, connected to different machines by various wires and tubes that would keep her condition stable. She watched the rise and fall of the girl's chest as she slept, anxiety bubbling in her stomach as she worried over the unconscious girl.

She had been with the girl for hours now, ever since the ambulance arrived. She returned to being intangible when the ambulance arrived and stowed away to make sure no other unforeseen circumstances would occur in the injured girl's transit. The doctors were quick to check her over and see what was wrong and found that she did indeed have chest and head trauma from the crash. The doctors were quick to fix her up before sticking her in the recovery room, where Luz was currently waiting. They would come in every so often to check on Amity, and Luz would turn herself intangible once they entered and returned to being tangible once they left.

The clock in the room read 4:00 am, and the Reaper sighed as she stood up from her chair and walked towards the door. She couldn't stay here, not much longer, at least. It was supposed to be a simple collection that should've taken 20 minutes max, not hours. She was sure Death would have questions and that Kiki would try to spin this to make it seem like Luz was incompetent and untrustworthy.

"Who-Who are you?"

Luz froze, eyes widening in surprise at the voice and sudden question. She turned to see Amity staring at her questioningly.

"I'm…a friend," Luz answered vaguely. It was bad enough Amity had seen her face; the last thing she needed was the girl knowing her name and trying to find her. She left without another word, leaving the injured girl with far more questions than answers.

Luz quickly made her way to the bathroom and checked to make sure she was alone before she slapped her forehead several times in irritation, mentally berating herself for how much she'd screwed up in one night. Two rules! She had managed to not only break, but shatter _two_ of Death's strict rules in a manner of a few hours. She huffed and summoned her scythe before slashing herself a new portal and stepping through. She could at least do _one_ thing right tonight.

**(The Void)**

"Yes I know I've been gone for a long time, no I don't want to hear to deal with your pointless bullshit right now," Luz said as she shoved the doors to Death's castle wide open, nearly slamming Kiki against the wall. The demon couldn't get a word in edgewise as Luz made her way to the doors of Death's chamber and opened it.

"Luz, I was starting to worry. You never take this long," Death said as she approached its table. A nervous smile made its way to her face as she chuckled awkwardly.

"S-Sorry Death, I guess you could say I got side-tracked," she said while unclipping the soul bag from her belt and setting it on the table. "Well, here ya go! If you need me I'll—"

"Only one soul?" Death asked, able to sense how many souls currently occupied the bag, causing Luz to flinch. "I sent you to collect two souls. Why have you only come back with one?"

"Ah, w-well you see, that's why I took so long," she gulped, trying to regain her composure and stop her jitteriness. "You see, another human came along and pulled the other car crash victim from the wreckage. She was brought to the hospital, where I stayed with her in case she did die so I could collect her soul then and there. But after waiting so long, I knew she wouldn't pass, so I came back here to deliver the soul I did collect," Luz explained to the deity before her, hoping this excuse and explanation would be enough to fool the original Grim Reaper. She grew nervous as Death stared at her from beneath its cloak for several minutes, not uttering a single word.

"Ah, I see, so another one escapes death then? Good for them," Death said, causing Luz to let out a shaky sigh of relief. "Splendid job, as per usual Luz. Please, go and rest until your next collection. You've earned it."

"Thank you, Death. I appreciate it," she said before turning and walking out the chamber room and out of the castle. She needed a stiff drink right about now.

**(Owl House)**

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"I _said_ —"

"No, I know what you said, I just can't _process it_!" Eda exclaimed as she paced back and forth while biting the nail of her thumb. Luz watched her and rolled her eyes before taking a sip from her drink. "What you did tonight was _so_ stupid and irresponsible, not even _I_ would do them! And, I've fist-fought God, gave Jesus a wedgie, and painted Satan's castle pink! I-What in any of the three realms would make you think breaking _two_ of Death's rules was such a good idea!"

"I don't know!" Luz shouted back at her friend as she scratched her head in anger. "I just felt _compelled_ to do it, ya know? My body moved on its own! Like—"

"Make _one_ anime reference and I'm sicing King on you," Eda growled, in no mood for another one of Luz's pop culture references. "Compelled? Oh please, there's only reason someone would do something so stupid. You love this girl, don't you?" she asked, causing Luz to grumble and cross her arms over her chest. She didn't meet Eda's questioning gaze as she thought her answer over.

"And what if I do?" she asked, causing Eda to groan in annoyance.

"You're playing with fire Luz. You know how fickle Death can be with the stupid rules it has set up. You're flying too close to the sun, Icarus!"

"Hey! Don't you _dare_ compare me to that asshole!"

"Then stop acting like him!"

"Why do you even care anyway? It's not like you'd get in trouble for anything! I would!"

"I care because I don't want the boneheaded brat that I _consider my daughter_ to be fired!" Eda shouted back, panting slightly, out of breath. Luz's eyes widened at the comment, and started to feel guilty; that's why Eda was being so… protective. She didn't want to lose another daughter.

"I-I'm sorry Eda," she said softly. "It's just, I want to protect her, I _need_ to protect her, to help her defy fate. And if I get caught, then so be it," she doubled down on her decision, causing the older Reaper to sigh before sitting on the table in front of her.

"Luz, listen to me. You know I love you and I only want what's best for you, and I know you're a grown girl and as such, you don't need to listen to a word I say. But you _need_ to think this over! Is this girl, who you _barely_ know, who doesn't even know you exist, and in a one out of infinity chance _may_ return your feelings, worth defying fate itself and Death? Is she really worth the consequences?"

"I-I think she is."

She had already broken the three main rules; why not go all in?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And with that, chapter 2 is finished. Sorry for the delay, would've been out sooner but my beta was swamped with school work. Anyway, let's get on with the notes.**
> 
> **Fun fact, William was originally going to be a cricket. I don't know why but that just seemed _really_ funny to me at the time. But eventually I decided a cat would be better.**
> 
> **I've been looking forward to introducing you all to Satan. I'm trying to make him into a cool uncle that'll let you do anything/older brother that'll give you a wet willy and call you names but curb stomp anyone that messes with you.**
> 
> **Genuine question. When it comes to stories, do you all prefer happy endings or bittersweet endings? Asking for no real reason…maybe.**
> 
> **I _neeeeeeeed_ help deciding what AU I wanna do next (after I actually finish one of my current Owl House fics, of course). So far the ones that really speak to me are: Jock Amity X Abused Luz (NOT abused by Amity, duh), an A/B/O Harem fic where Luz is an Alpha in a school full of Gamma's (rated E for Explicit for…obvious reasons), Jock Luz X goth nerd Amity where they're forced to be in a school play, and Human Luz X summoned Demon Amity. I really can't decide. What do you all think?**
> 
> **Just wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone about my Twitter, @ghost5091. I post updates regarding chapter statuses, snippets of future chapters/stories, shout out the fanarts I get and the people who made them, and will answer questions regarding anything, whether it be about myself, my stories, or anything really. Go ahead and follow if you'd like!**
> 
> **I…think that's it for now. Wow, thought I had a lot more to add. Will say that this story is now officially on Ao3, FFN, and Wattpad. Just wanna say thank you so much for the support so far.**
> 
> **Join me next time when a simple walk turns into a run for survival. See ya in chapter 3!**


	3. The Lying Bear and a Risky Gamble With Death; How Long Can This Charade Last?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz tries to take her mind off of Amity and wants to forget about her. But after seeing the girl again after so long, Luz wants nothing more than to officially meet the human who has stolen her heart. But Death has growing suspicions over the reaper. Will Luz be able to meet Amity without Death finding out? Or, is it best to let the girl go?

**(One month later)**

It had been one month since Luz broke all of Death’s sacred rules and saved the life of Amity Blight, a girl who had unknowingly stolen Luz’s young heart. To this day, it still amazed Luz that even though she barely even knew the girl, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing her to Death’s cold, skeletal hands. 

Ever since saving her life, Luz had kept herself preoccupied by going out and collecting the souls who had unfortunately met their demise. Through rain, snow, tornados, or the blaring heat of the sahara desert, the young reaper had refused every day off that Death had offered her. She knew that if she wasn’t working or sleeping, she would subconsciously drift back to the hospital to check up on the brown-and-green-haired beauty

No, she couldn’t risk going back and seeing Amity, no matter how much her heart ached or how much she yearned to see the girl again, or how much it was killing her not knowing if the human girl was all right or not. Luz knew what happened to Grim Reapers who broke Death’s rules, and she didn’t want to get caught while checking on Amity.

No, instead she would keep her head low and continue doing her job. It was better this way, as keeping away from Amity meant they would both be safe. She made an oath to herself; she was _not_ going back to Bonesborough anytime soon.

But fate certainly was a bitch, wasn’t it?

_Help me! Somebody, anybody, please!”_

Luz frowned as she stared down sadly at the little dachshund as he tried to swim for his life in the large swimming pool, which was currently acting like a watery prison for the poor pup. The wiener dog was furiously kicking his tiny legs in the water, trying his best to stay afloat. But alas, despite his best efforts it wasn’t working; all it did was delay the inevitable.

Despite the promise she had made to herself to not return to Bonesborough, Death had other plans and had sent her to retrieve the soul of an elderly woman who had passed away in her sleep just down the road. She had collected the poor woman’s soul and was getting ready to return before she heard the dog’s plea for help. She decided to investigate and found the dog like this, and decided to stay and collect his soul once he could no longer fight.

“I’m sorry little one, I promise it’ll be all over soon,” Luz said as she readied her scythe. She was tempted to look away, as watching the dog slowly lose his battle for life was hard. Her grip tightened on her scythe as the dog started to move less and less. She felt awful for letting the poor dog suffer, unlike most reapers who would’ve killed him without a second glance or thought. It would be so easy to reach down and end the dog’s misery instead of prolonging it, but her mind and body wouldn’t allow her. Ever since she became a Grim Reaper, she swore to never kill someone, no matter if they were suffering or not.

She stared with sad and tired eyes as the dog stopped moving and started to sink further down into the pool, a green mist escaping the dog’s mouth as it slowly started to die. “Soon, little one, and you’ll be free.”

Luz was so caught up staring at the dog and whispering comforting words that she hadn’t realized anyone else was outside before a body suddenly dove into the pool, startling her. She yelped in surprise and watched as the person swam downwards into the pool before grabbing the dog and swimming back up. Her eyes widened in surprise, and her frowned twisted into a large smile once she saw the brow- and-green hair of Amity Blight.

“It-it’s you!” Luz exclaimed with absolute glee, laughing joyfully from seeing Amity again. Words couldn’t describe how happy she was to see her human alive and well. “Oh thank God you’re okay. I’ve been so worried about you! I _should’ve_ come to check up on you, but I was too nervous that Death would catch on. But here you are! You’re alive, you’re okay, and you’re as beautiful as ever! Is that creepy to say? Who cares? You’re alive!” Luz let out another laugh, body shaking with excitement and happiness from seeing Amity after so long.

“Breath, c’mon goddammit, breath!”

Luz was snapped back to reality from her mini celebration by the sudden shout. She turned and frowned as she watched the love of her life perform CPR on the dog to try and bring him back from the edge of death. She could hear human whisper curses under her breath as she switched back and forth from pushing into the dent of the dog's ribs and CPR. Luz sighed as she could still see the green mist escaping through the dog’s mouth.

“What you’re doing is noble, but I’m sorry, you’re too late,” Luz said as she approached the human and dog. “It’s okay, I promise you, he’s going to a better pla—”

Luz was cut off as a sudden stream of water shot up into the air from the dog's mouth. The dachshund started to cough as his eyes slowly opened, before they widened from surprise from realizing he was still alive. The little pup shot to his feet before he jumped on Amity and started licking her face, causing a cute giggle to escape the human as she accepted the affection.

 _“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”_ the weiner dog repeatedly exclaimed as he thanked the human who had saved his life. After a solid minute of showing affection, the dog hopped off of Amity before turning and growling at Luz. _“Fuck you!”_ he excalimed before running off down the street. 

“Heh, you know you’re incredible, right?” Luz asked as she watched the human stand up from the ground. She watched as Amity wrang the water out of her hair before walking towards the stairs of her apartment building, her shoes making squishing sounds with every step. Luz bit her lip as she watched the human go, trying to decide on what to do. “I mean, walking up stairs with wet shoes on could be dangerous... I should walk her up to her apartment, ya know, to make sure she gets there safely.” 

**(Amity’s apartment)**

After slamming the door to her apartment shut, Amity kicked off her wet shoes and sat them on the shoe mat next to her door before making her way through her home. Luz poked her head through the door and allowed herself in before taking in the sight of Amity’s lovely home. It was a moderately sized apartment, with clean white walls and matching ceiling, brown wooden floors that were nearly swallowed whole with dark purple shag carpets, and a nice-sized, dark gray couch with a small coffee table set against one wall and a giant TV hanging on the wall across from it. The kitchen was nice, very modernized with a marble island right in the middle. The walls of the living room were littered with posters of animals, beautiful scenery, and some of who Luz had assumed were Amity’s family. In one poster stood a younger Amity, probably 18 or so, smiling in a red cap and gown with Tony Blight behind her, looking as proud as could be. Another poster had a much younger Amity smiling and wearing a hat with Mickey Mouse ears, and on either side of her stood two slightly older children. They must’ve been the twins Luz had seen at Tony’s funeral. So Amity _did_ have siblings; Luz wondered what they were like?

“Nice place you’ve got here! It must be nice living on your own; my mother would’ve _never_ let me have purple carpeting in, like, a bazillion years! How do you—” Luz started to say before the wet _splatting_ sound of something heavy and wet hitting the ground interrupted her. She blinked twice before turning to the source. “Eh, what the—oh god!” she screamed suddenly, face turning a dark shade of red before she covered her eyes and turned away from the sight. Amity had taken off her shirt and pants before tossing them into her bathroom, leaving her in nothing but her pink bra and matching panties. “Oh my Jesus Christ, I’m so sorry! I swear I didn’t see anything! I promise I’m not the type of reaper that goes around spying on half-naked people! I think it’s wrong and that—” Luz was cut off, yet again, by the slamming of a door. She lowered her hands and noticed that Amity had retreated to her bedroom to change, and the reaper let out a sigh of relief. “Was-was that a tattoo I saw near her... no, no! Bad Luz! Don’t think about it!” she growled to herself, face heating up again from the memory before she slapped her cheeks a few times to get her mind off of what she had seen. 

It didn’t take long for Amity to exit her room. She was dry now, and was wearing a pair of purple leggings and a dark green t-shirt. She was humming a tune that caught Luz’s attention, as it was the theme song of an old cartoon Luz had watched when she was a kid about three little animals-hybrids siblings that went on wacky adventures. Some would say they were zany to the max, and that’s a fact! Plopping herself onto the couch, Amity grabbed a notebook and pencil from the coffee table before she opened the book and started to draw. Luz’s interest was piqued and she leaned over the couch for a quick peak. The drawing was of a girl, with caramel skin, long brown hair, and bright brown eyes, and—hey, wait a minute!

“That’s me!” Luz exclaimed with a gasp, shocked by how well detailed the drawing was and how much it looked _exactly_ like her! “You’ve only seen my face, what, twice? And, you remembered every detail about it? I’m impressed!”

“Who are you?” Amity asked herself as she stared intently down at the drawing of the girl who had saved her life one month ago, completely unaware of the Grim Reaper who stood behind her, gushing about her art skills. The mystery girl had been plaguing her mind ever since she had pulled Amity from the wreckage, and yet, _no one else_ had seen her, or even knew her. “You save my life and call 911, yet don’t stay with me until they arrive. Then you _somehow_ get into my hospital room without any of the doctors or nurses knowing about it. They thought I was going crazy until they pulled up the security footage of you leaving my room, but _never_ entering in the first place. You left no fingerprints, no DNA samples, _nothing_. Who _are_ you?” she asked again as she stared down at the drawing so hard, Luz was surprised it wasn’t bursting into flames. After a solid minute or two, she let out an exasperated sound before leaning back in her seat. “Well whoever you are, at least you’re cute,” she said before closing the book and sitting it back onto the table, causing Luz to let out a squawk of shock as her blush returned fullforce. 

“Wha-What?!”

“I’m gonna lose my mind if I stay here and keep thinking about you. I need to get out of here for a bit and clear my head,” Amity said as she stood up from the couch and stretched. She grabbed a hoodie from the corner of the couch and slipped it on, revealing the word ‘Hexside’ displayed proudly across the chest in golden letters, before she went towards the door and slipped on a different pair of shoes. Luz followed close behind her, and as Amity unknowingly slammed the door in her face, she merely walked through and ran to catch up with the human.

“Hey, wait for me!” 

**(Forest outside of Bonesborough)**

A cool breeze wafted through the tree branches of the forest. The leaves were beginning to change pretty colors, like red and orange; some had even started to fall and call the forest floor their new home. Up in the sky, birds flew and sang to one another as little squirrels traveled on the ground in search for food. Many, however, stopped what they were doing to stare at the strange sight before them; a human girl walking through the path, with a Grim Reaper walking by her side, scythe out and resting on her shoulders.

<img src="

“And-And then Napoleon starts _biting_ Hitler’s left shin!” Luz started to howl with laughter as she continued telling her story of one time when she visited hell. It was the time of month where Satan gathered the most nefarious and tortured them himself. She could still remember how Stalin was running around with his ass on fire and how Mussolini was crying in the corner, begging for his mother. “I-I tell ya, you _had_ to be there,” Luz sighed happily as she wiped away a tear from her eye. She frowned when Amity said nothing and instead continued her walk, staring emotionlessly at the ground. “Not much of a talker, are ya?” Luz asked jokingly, and was met with more silence. “You don’t know how much I wish we could actually talk to one another. I feel like we could become really good friends, ya know? And who knows... maybe something more?”

Luz’s ears twitched when she heard the sounds of someone, or something, sobbing to themselves. She paused her walking and looked around, trying to listen and pinpoint where the source of the sound. She turned her head to the left, where the origin of the sobs seemed to be coming from.

“Hey, I’ll be right back. Try to stay safe, okay?” Luz asked before she walked away from Amity and made her way through the bushes and shrubbery, easily phasing through the foliage in her reaper state. The further she walked into the forest, the louder the crying got, making it easier to find where it was coming from. Eventually she found the one who was crying, and the sight broke her heart.

The soul of a recently deceased song sparrow stood over its own lifeless body, crying. Its mangled remains stained the ground red with its blood, its feathers sprawled out in every direction. The bird had had its body ripped into by some kind of animal, most likely a cat. The bird looked younger, probably no older than a month old, two if it was lucky. Luz sighed before walking the bird and crouching down, running her fingers over the tiny bird’s head in an attempt to calm it down.

“Hey, hey it’s okay, I’m here, I’m here,” she whispered down to the soul, trying to comfort the little bird. Eventually the bird’s sobs softened, and the soul looked up at Luz with teary eyes. “There, that’s better. Are you all right, my little friend?”

 _“You-you can see me?”_ the bird asked, causing Luz to grin as she tapped the bluntside end of her scythe on the ground.

“I would hope so; seeing souls is part of my job,” Luz said, causing the little bird's eyes to widen.

_“You’re a Grim Reaper?”_

“You bet your little beak I am,” Luz said, poking the soul's chest and causing him to giggle. “Can you tell me what happened, my little feathered friend?”

 _“I-I was asleep in my mommy’s nest when there was a strong gust of wind. It knocked the nest out of the tree, and I fell and hurt my wing. I tried to fly back up, but my wing really hurt, so I couldn’t. Then... a cat came along,”_ the soul shivered at the awful memory of feeling the feline’s teeth sinking into its flesh. Luz frowned and stuck her finger out, letting the soul hop on before she brought him close.

“I’m so sorry to hear what you went through. But it’s okay, you’re safe now. Everything’s going to be okay now,” Luz gave the bird a reassuring smile, and the bird smiled back. “I’m gonna go ahead and collect you now, okay little friend? I have a very special friend who would love to see you. Are you ready?”

The bird nodded, prompting Luz to lean her scythe down just enough so the tip could poke the top of the bird's head. The bird’s soul collapsed on itself, turning into a little floating ball. Luz unclipped her soul bag and placed it inside before re-clipping it. She sighed before standing back up and slinging her scythe over her shoulder.

“Okay, now to get back to—”

“AHHHHH!” A scream suddenly cut through the woods, followed by a loud, terrifying growl. Luz turned to the source, eyes widening in fear as her blood turned cold.

“Amity!” she shouted, grip tightening on her scythe as she started running through the forest, phrasing through trees and bushes as she raced to save her human. The growling started getting louder with her every step until she found the path, the sight before her making her gasp. Amity was sitting down on the ground, back pressed against the base of a tree as an adult black bear towered over her, bearing its razor-sharp teeth, claw raised into the air, ready to bring it downwards upon the human. 

She didn’t think before acting; Luz lunged forward, just as the bear slashed down towards Amity. 

With her eyes screwed shut, Amity waited and waited for the bear's claws to slash into her flesh, but was confused when they never did. Slowly her eyes fluttered open before widening in surprise when she saw the bear towering over her, frozen like a statue. From her point of view, all she saw was the bear standing, unmoving, a hint of fear in its eyes; but from what?

What Amity couldn’t see was Luz standing in front of her, her scythe’s blade raised to the bear’s throat, more than willing to slice through the bear’s flesh to decapitate it. Luz was growling in anger, eyes no longer their usual warm brown, but a rageful red.

“Lower your claw and sit down, _now_ ,” she ordered with a snarl, bringing her scythe closed to the bear’s throat. The bear did as it was ordered, slowly lowering her paw to her side before sitting down like a dog, keeping her eyes on the reaper. “Why did you attack her?”

 _“She got close to my young, I was merely protecting them,”_ the bear answered, but Luz knew the bear was lying. The bear wouldn’t look her in the eye as she spoke, Luz hadn’t seen nor heard any bear cubs in the immediate area, and there hadn’t been any record, to Luz’s knowledge, of a black bear ever trying to kill to protect her young. So it begged the question, why was she lying? Luz kept her gaze upon the bear for another second before turning her head to check on Amity; her scythe still raised to the bear’s throat. She looked fine, other than being covered with some dirt and a scraped knee from falling.

“You’re lying,” Luz said, causing the bear’s eyes to widen. “Why, I don’t know, but the girl seems okay other than being a bit scared. I’ll let you go, but I swear if you or any of the others come after her again, I won’t be so merciful,” she said while lowering her scythe. “Go, _now_.”

The bear growled, but dared to not look a gift horse in the mouth and took the reaper upon her offer. With another growl she turned and ran off into the forest, causing Luz to sigh in relief, but the act only made Amity’s confusion grow.

“I-What just happened?” the human asked herself as she stood up on shaky legs, dusting herself off from the dirt. “I-I need to get out of here before she comes back.”

“C’mon, I’ll walk you home,” Luz said as she eyed the area the bear ran off into. She turned and caught up to Amity, scythe still slung over her shoulder, ready in case of another attack.

As they left, Luz didn’t notice as a pair of red eyes stared at them through the shadows, a sickening giggle escaping the person as they watched them leave. With a smile, a green portal was ripped into the air besides them before they walked through.

**(One hour later: The Void)**

Luz whistled to herself as she stepped out of her portal and into Eda’s living room. The house was surprisingly quiet, which meant Eda was either asleep or out on the job. She walked over to the couch and plopped down into it, kicking her feet into the air before resting them on the coffee table, a small sigh of happiness escaping her; she was happy to be home.

After the bear incident, Luz had ended up walking back with Amity to her home to make sure nothing else bad would happen to her. The human was still a bit shaken up from the near-fatal attack, but physically she was fine aside from a scraped knee and a few cuts on her hand from the fall. The beast still lingered on Luz's mind; why had it lied over attacking Amity? Not knowing was going to eat at Luz, but at least she could rest now knowing Amity was safe.

“Luz!” a squeaky voice called from inside the house, and Luz couldn’t help but grin at the pitter-patter of claws running on the wooden floor. She turned her head towards the doorway and watched as a small creature slid by accidentally, as his claws had no traction on the hard surface before he crashed into something. The creature yelped in surprise and came tumbling into the living room, a metal bucket stuck on his head. He struggled and whined while trying to pull it off, causing Luz to snicker at his adorable antics.

The creature was a demon, and his name was King. King had been a pet and servant to Satan a long time ago before Eda won him in a card game. That was roughly 100 years ago, and the two had become quick friends and now saw each other as family. Luz had become the third member of their weird little family shortly after becoming a reaper. She and King would often joke around, having a weekly ‘comedy hour’ that Eda despised.

“Here, let me help you,” Luz said as she leaned over and grabbed the bottom of the bucket. With a simple tug the bucket popped off of the skull that King wore, prompting the demon to raise his tiny little hands in victory.

“Aha! I did it, all by myself!” he exclaimed with pride before his memory caught up with him, causing him to gasp as he remembered why he had run in here in the first place. “Luz!” King shouted worriedly, climbing onto the couch before diving into Luz’s chest.

“Whoa, relax there King, everything’s okay,” Luz said with a smile as she ran her fingers through King’s fur. “What’s got you all worked up? And where’s Eda?”

“Looking for you, dumby!” King exclaimed, causing Luz to cock her head to the side.

“Why is she looking for me?”

“Because... Because Death stopped by,” King said, causing Luz’s eyes to widen in worry. Death had come to the Owl House? When? Why?

“But-but Death _never_ leaves its castle unless it’s for an important reason,” Luz whispered before looking King dead in the eyes. “King, why was Death here?”

“Death was looking for you, Luz. And it didn’t sound happy,” the tiny demon whimpered, causing a spike to fear and worry to travel down Luz’s spine. This couldn’t be good.

“Call Eda and tell her that I’m going to go see Death. I’ll be right back, okay?” Luz asked before leaning down and kissing King’s forehead. She sat the demon down onto the couch and headed for the door, stomach bubbling with worry over what Death could want. _‘I have a bad feeling about this.’_

**(Death’s Castle)**

When Luz first entered Death’s castle, the first thing she noticed was Kikimora staring at her as she made her way to Death’s chamber. She didn’t need to see the demon’s face to know that she was grinning ear to ear beneath her face cover. Luz narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but chose to ignore the red-skinned demon and opened the door to Death’s chamber. She strolled into the room, the doors slamming shut behind her like usual, and she eyed Death where it sat in its throne. The ruler of The Void had its elbow planted in the arm rest, its face resting in the palm of its hand.

“Hello Death,” Luz greeted with a small bow. “I was told you came by Eda’s home in search of me. Is everything all right?”

“...Do you think I enjoy being lied to, Luz?” Death asked, sounding like a disappointed parent who had just found out their child had just failed their grade in school. Luz cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“No, I don’t think you do. I don’t think _anyone_ does, as a matter of fact.”

“Then please Luz, tell me, why is it that you’ve been lying to me for over a month now?” Death asked, causing Luz’s eyes to widen in surprise at the accusation. She felt the palms of her hands start to sweat, heart now beating in her ears from its excessive beating. She wiped away her surprised expression and turned it into a neutral one.

“Death, I mean no offense, but I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re—”. 

“Do not lie to me, Reaper Noceda!” Death bellowed, slamming its skeletal hand into the armrest of its throne, creating a loud ‘boom’ sound and causing the whole castle to shake. Luz flinched as a sudden gust of wind spread throughout the room from the blow. 

“I’m not lying, Death! I swear to you, I have no idea—”

“After I sent you to Bonesborough, I sent Reaper Mattholomule there as well to collect the soul of a firefighter who died while inside a burning building,” Death said bitterly, causing Luz’s eyes to widen in surprise. “Reaper Mattholomule has brought serious allegations against you, saying that he saw you protect a human from being attacked by a bear in the forest. This is very serious, Luz. You _know_ what happens to reapers once they break my rules, correct?” Death asked, causing Luz to nod. 

“But Death, you _know_ Matt hates me! He’s always lying and trying to get me into trouble! How do you know that this isn’t another one of his lies?”

“I will admit, Reaper Mattholomule isn’t the... brightest or friendliest of reapers, but even he isn’t stupid enough to lie to me about something so critical. I’m sorry Luz, but unless you can prove to me that he is indeed lying, you know what must be done,” Death said before raising its right hand as it glowed green, causing Luz’s eyes to widen in panic. 

_‘Shit, shit, shit, shit! What do I do? What do I-—_ Luz thought to herself before an idea dawned on her. _‘—the bird!’_

“I can prove to you Matt is lying! I have a witness that can back me up!” Luz shouted, causing Death to pause, the green power around its hand fading to nothingness. 

“A witness?”

“Yes! I will admit I was in the forest, but that’s only because an animal was crying out for help!” Luz said as she unclipped her soul bag before placing it gently onto Death’s table. “In here is the animal that can vouch for me! There were no humans in the area at the time! Matt is lying to you!”

Death hummed to itself before nodding and using its hand to gesture to Luz to take a few steps back. She did as requested, and Death flicked its finger, opening the bag and allowing the animal that had been trapped inside to shoot out into the air. The sparrow Luz had collected flew around the room before spotting the reaper. He flew down and landed on her shoulder before nuzzling her cheek, causing the girl to giggle.

“A song sparrow,” Death gasped softly, reaching its finger out, hoping the bird would land on it. The bird eyed Luz, asking if he should or not, and she nodded. With a chirp, the bird flew into the air before landing on Death’s finger. The soul chirped happily as Death started scratching under his chin. Luz grinned to herself as she watched the ruler of the Void coo over the soul.

Unbeknownst to many, Death had a giant soft side for animals. 

“It’s nice to meet you, my little feathered friend,” Death said, smiling beneath its hood. Luz cleared her throat to remind Death why she had brought the soul out, causing Death to shake its head. “Oh, my apologies. Little friend, this reaper here has been accused of breaking one of my rules. Is it or is it not true that she saved a human from a bear attack?”

The sparrow cocked his head to the side as he stared into the black void that was Death’s cloak. He turned his head to look at Luz, who was staring back at him with hopeful eyes, her message very clear to him. 

“What human?” the sparrow asked, causing Luz to sigh in relief. “I never saw any human or any bears around when she found me. It was just the two of us before she brought me here.”

“I see. Thank you my friend; you have been much help to me. Please, enjoy heaven,” Death said, its finger glowing green as it tapped the bird on the head. The bird vanished in thin air, on his way to heaven and leaving Luz alone with Death. “You have my utmost apologies, Luz. I should’ve known Mattholomule was trying to pull the wool over my eyes; he has had it out for you for years now, after all.”

“Apology accepted, Death. I know you were only following your protocol. No hard feelings,” Luz said with a small smile.

“Thank you, Luz. Please, feel free to take the next few days off, if you so wish. You’re dismissed. I have a certain reaper I need to talk to,” Death said with a growl, causing Luz to nod.

“Thank you, Death,” Luz said with a bow before turning on her heels and walking out of the room. Her eyes narrowed sharply when she saw a _very_ familiar reaper talking to Kikimora. With large strides, Luz was quick to walk across the room and close the distance. Mattholomule looked up from his discussion with Kiki and grinned snarkley. 

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the rule break—” the reaper, Mattholomule, started to say before he was cut off by a fist connecting with his right cheek. Kikimora gasped as Luz wrapped her fingers around Matt’s neck before _slamming_ him against the brick wall behind, cracking it.

“You-You can’t just—” Kiki began to say, but shuddered in fear as Luz gazed down at her, brown eyes now an angry red. In a flash, Luz summoned her scythe before using the dull end to scoop Kiki up and slammed her into the wall next to Mattholomule.

“What. Did you. Do?” Luz growled, causing Matt to smirk. The reaper chuckled before rolling the sleeve on his cloak, revealing a skeletal hand, much like Death’s.

“I’m almost at my kill limit, and we all know what happens when a reaper reaches it. I ordered the bear to kill the human so it wouldn’t count towards my limit, but imagine my surprise when I saw you jump in the way to save her,” he grinned sickly at her, believing he had won. “You can’t talk your way out of this one Noceda. Finally, Death is going to have to punish its favorite little reaper. This has been a long time coming,” Matt grinned, which quickly died down as Luz started to chuckle. 

“I already spoke to Death, and I was able to convince it that you were lying,” Luz said, causing the pair’s eyes to widen. “That human is officially under _my_ protection. Mess with her again and suffer the consequences,” she growled before releasing them, dropping Kikimora onto the ground without a care.

“What did you do?” Matt growled.

“I played your game and beat you at it, that’s what I did.”

“You-You just attacked us and admitted to saving a human! When Death hears about this—”

“And, who’s Death going to believe?” Luz cut off Kiki with her own sickening grin. “The people who are always lying to it to get me in trouble, the people who _just_ now ‘lied’ to it over a very serious matter, or me? It’s _favorite_ reaper?” Luz asked as her scythe disappeared. She smiled down at the two before turning to leave. “Death is waiting for you, Matt. Best not to keep it waiting,” she said before exiting through the front doors of the castle.

“Reaper Mattholomule, my chambers. Now!” Death bellowed from its chamber, causing the reaper and demon assistant to shutter.

“C-Coming Death!”

**(Owl House)**

“You got lucky this time around, but Death is gonna keep a closer watch on you now. You need to be more careful,” Eda warned as she poured herself and Luz a drink. The younger reaper sighed and nodded, accepting the drink with a small nod as thanks.

“I know, I know. I’ll be more careful from now on,” she said, causing Eda herself to sigh. 

“I still think what you’re doing is stupid, and reckless, and so many other things I wanna say but can’t because King is in here stuffing his face,” Eda said while gesturing to the demon as he sat on top of the kitchen counter, happily stuffing a cupcake into his mouth. “At least you don’t have any other stupid ideas.”

“I-I want to meet her,” Luz said suddenly as Eda was halfway through taking a sip, causing the older reaper to spit out her drink in surprise.

“Ahh! My fur!”

“You _what?_!”

“Eda it’s _killing me_ not being able to talk to her! I’m so tired of having one-sided conversations everytime we’re alone. And, she wants to meet me too! I know it’s a dumb idea—”

“Understatement of the millennia.”

“— _but_ I think we could really connect once we officially meet. I mean, I’ve come this far, why not keep pushing the envelope?”

“I just hope you know what you’re doing kid.”

“Trust me, I do.”

Or so she hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hey...long time no see? Sorry about this update taking so long. School, depression, and general lack of motivation has been really kicking my ass, but I'm getting back into the swing of things! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm gonna try to update this and my "10 Ways To Get A Human To Fall In Love With You" more consistently. So wish me luck!**
> 
> **Note time!**
> 
> **I officially have an Instagram account now! My name is ghost509_ if you wanna follow! I also made a ko-fi account where y'all can donate to me (if you want) since times aren't the best rn. You can find the link through my linktree account in my Instagram bio if y'all are interested.  
>  Eventually I'll open up commissions for stories and maybe some art, but it'll be a while before doing that though.**
> 
> **I've come up with more AUs I wanna do eventually, so be on the look out for them!**
> 
> **Wonder what's gonna happen when Luz and Amity officially meet...**
> 
> **I don't know what else to say or put. Will say thank you all who have been patiently waiting for me to update. Join me next time when Luz makes her move. See ya in chapter 4!**


	4. Interrogating a Reaper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz works up the courage to finally meet Amity face to face. But before she can chicken out, Amity runs into her (literally). Will Luz reveal all her reaper secrets to the human girl? Stay tuned to find out.

Today was the day.

Today, she was going to _finally_ and _officially_ introduce herself to the human that had stolen her dead heart: Amity Blight.

Only problem was, she didn't know _how_ to go about it.

It was a sunny day in Bonesborough, and as many of its residents went about their ordinary day-to-day lives, Luz found herself pacing back and forth in front of Amity's apartment; not only was she trying to work up the courage to speak to the brunette, but she was also trying to think of what she could say to the girl. She needed an excuse, or a backstory, or _something_ about who she was, how she knew where Amity lived, and other questions she had assumed Amity was going to ask her. The biggest problem was trying to think of a way to introduce herself. The girl was so nervous, she was wearing her favorite beanie with cat ears in an attempt to calm herself down.

"What can I even say to her?" Luz asked herself. "I mean, I can't just say 'Hey, I'm a grim reaper who's been stalking you. Wanna go out'?" She scoffed at the idea of outright saying such a thing; the human would surely think she was a mental institute escapee. During her pacing, a sudden realization dawned upon her. "Holy fuck, I have been technically stalking her, haven't I? Satan's never gonna let me live this down if he finds out!" she groaned in annoyance and pinched the bridge of her nose, already considering backing out and doing this another day.

I mean, where was the shame in retreating and coming back another day? Sure, King would probably mock her a bit for chickening out, and Eda would probably try to talk her out of doing it (for the 50th time, mind you) but Luz could easily deal with all of that. At least if she retreated now, she could put more thought into what she was going to say once she and Amity officially met face to face.

"Why does this have to be so difficult?" Luz scratched her head in annoyance and irritation before she turned to walk away, hoping to find a secluded area to summon her scythe to open a portal to go home. She didn't get far before she felt someone bump into her. The force of the collision, combined with Luz not paying attention whatsoever, was enough to send both her and the other person falling on their butts. Luz let out a small grunt from the sudden fall and looked up to see who she had bumped into. "Shit, sorry about that. Wasn't paying...attention…" Luz trailed off, eyes widening in surprise from seeing who she had run into.

She stared into the eyes of one Amity Blight, whose own eyes were wide in shock from staring at the mysterious girl she had been searching for. And, who would've thought, she would find her right outside her apartment building.

"You!" Amity exclaimed while pointing at the Latina, who gulped from being caught. She chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head.

"Me," she said as an attempt at a joke.

Welp, there was no time like the present, Luz supposed.

**(Inside Amity's apartment)**

Luz sat at Amity's kitchen table, fingers drumming against the tabletop and leg bouncing underneath as she watched the human make a pot of coffee for the two of them. The human had been _very_ adamant about having Luz come inside to answer her questions, and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. The girl could be quite persuasive, and a bit intimidating. Luz nodded and muttered a quick 'thanks' when the human placed a cup of coffee in front of her before sitting in the chair across from her.

"So, where do you wanna start?" Luz asked as she took a sip, the heat of the freshly made brew not affecting her in the slightest.

"Well, your name for one would be nice," Amity said as she blew on her coffee before taking a sip. "I remember you pulling me from my car when I got into that crash, and I remember waking up to you in my hospital room. Doctors and nurses say they never saw you enter the room, and the police haven't been able to identify you whatsoever. So, who _are_ you?" she asked.

Luz breathed in and out to calm herself. "Well, my name is Luz Noceda. I'm 22 years old, and…I'm a grim reaper," she said with a nervous smile, taking the more blunt approach and putting everything out into the open.

"Ah, so you're a crazy person, then. Excuse me," Amity said as she got up from her seat and grabbed the phone off of the kitchen counter, no doubt to call the police about the 'crazy' person who was currently in her home. Why were the cute ones always crazy?

"Wait! I can prove it!" Luz exclaimed as she jumped up to her feet.

"Prove...that you're the grim reaper?" Amity asked with a cocked eyebrow, her hand resting on the handle of one of her drawers; the knife drawer, more specifically. You could never be too careful. "Am I on some sort of TV show like Impractical Jokers right now? Are you one of those weird ass youtubers who goes around pranking people to record their reactions? Or did Emira and Edric put you up to this?"

"I have no clue who those people are, but yes! I can prove that I'm a grim reaper! Just, give me a chance?" Luz asked with a pleading gaze.

Amity considered the girl's plea, unable to get an accurate read on her. This 'Luz', if that was even her real name, seemed quite passionate about this, and it almost seemed like she was telling the truth based on the look in her eyes. But that was crazy; there were no such things as grim reapers, or Satan and hell, or God and heaven. Her belief in such things had died out long ago because of her parents and how they'd treated her over the years. No, the most logical reasoning for all of this was that this girl was just a good actress. Amity knew Edric and Emira had connections to a few famous movie stars, so it was highly likely that they asked them for a no-name with some talent, and 'Luz' was the best option.

With a sigh Amity cancelled her call, but still kept the phone gripped in her one hand and her other wrapped around the drawer handle, just to be on the safe side. "Okay, show me what you've got," she said begrudgingly, wanting to get this over with so she could kick her out. She watched as Luz's eyes brightened and started to twinkle before she took a few steps back from the table.

Luz stood back from the table and rubbed her hands together before reaching them out. She closed her eyes and started to concentrate, a spark of green crackling from her hands that made Amity's eyes widen in surprise. A sudden violent gust of wind started to blow around the kitchen, tipping over various bottles and other objects that stood on top of the counter, just as the lights overhead started flickering on and off. Amity watched as Luz's hoodie started to open itself, tearing itself apart and growing longer until it reached the girl's ankles. Something black suddenly appeared in between her hands and started growing in length; soon, her curved blade started to appear at one end, her scythe finally forming into completion.

As the wind finally died down and lights stopped flickering, Luz opened her eyes and had a wide, giddy smile once she was done, eyes sparkling with excitement. Amity must've thought that was so cool! She purposely went over the top to show off in hopes of impressing the human.

"Pretty cool, right?" Luz asked, twirling the scythe between her fingers before setting the blunt end onto the ground. She looked up and grinned at the stunned look on Amity's face. Finally, she would believe her!

However, her grin was quickly wiped away as Amity closed her eyes and started to fall backwards. Luz yelped, and with great speed she dashed forward and caught the human in her arms before she could hit the ground. Worry flashed in her eyes as she stared down at the unmoving body of her beloved, and it took her a few minutes of breathing to calm herself down. Nothing bad or serious had happened; the girl had merely passed out.

"Well, it's better than her calling the cops," Luz muttered to herself as she picked the girl up bridal style and carried her to the couch.

**(One hour later)**

Amity's eyes fluttered open, and she let out a soft yawn as she reached her hands towards the sky at an attempt to stretch. She didn't remember falling asleep on the couch, but she must've dozed off while watching a movie or while studying, as she was prone to do. She had the strangest dream where she ran into that mystery girl and invited her in, only to find out she was a grim reaper. She really needed to lay off the energy drinks; she always had the craziest dreams after knocking back a few.

"Thank god you're finally awake. Any longer and I would've called 9-1-1," a voice said from the other end of the couch, causing the girl to freeze. She considered not looking, believing this was still a dream because _no way_ was this girl real. Slowly turning her head, her eyes widened when she saw Luz sitting on the other end of the couch, looking worried. "You okay? You look a bit pale."

A scream escaped the human from seeing the reaper, one that made the other girl flinch from the sudden ear-piercing shriek. Amity scooted backwards, climbing over the arms rest and dropping to the floor below as she continued moving backwards to create some distance.

"Stop! For the love of God please stop! Someone's gonna call the cops!" Luz pleaded as she plugged her ears, hoping to drown out the screams of horror.

"Y-You're—You're—"

"A grim reaper, yes. Now will you _please_ calm down?" Luz asked, unplugging her ears once the girl finally stopped screaming. With a sigh of relief, she got up from the couch and started walking towards the girl, who kept backing away until her back met the leg of the kitchen table.

"A-Are you here to kill me?" Amity asked, letting out a small whimper of fright as she stared up at the reaper before her.

"Wha-No! What? Don't you think if I wanted to kill you, I would've done so during the _hour_ that you were unconscious and sleeping on the couch?" Luz asked with a deadpan expression. Amity opened her mouth to speak and rebuttal, before closing her mouth; she had a good point. "Great, you're scared of me. This isn't how I planned our first meeting," Luz groaned, upset by the events that had transpired. Amity stared up at her, surprised at how genuinely upset and hurt Luz was knowing Amity had feared her.

"What are you talking about?" Amity asked, cocking her head to the side. She had planned for them to meet? Why?

"I...Look, can we start over? I'm sure you probably have _hundreds_ of questions, so how about we put on some more coffee, or order some food or something, and you can ask them. I'll answer whatever I can. Deal?" Luz asked, reaching down and offering Amity her hand. The human studied the offered hand, a hint of fear returning in her eyes.

"Won't-Won't you kill me if you touch me?" she asked.

"I literally carried you to your couch," Luz said, deadpan expression returning. Amity blinked, realizing that Luz _had_ touched her already, and she was fine. Amity nodded and grasped the reaper's hand before she was pulled to her feet, and was met with a warm, happy smile from Luz. "C'mon, I'll put the coffee on."

**(Several minutes later)**

Everything felt so surreal as Amity watched a _literal grim reaper_ stand at her kitchen counter, humming to herself as she poured each of them a cup of coffee. Luz turned to her, smiling again before she sat the pot back and walked over to the table, sitting Amity's cup in front of the brunette.

"Mind if I take my cloak off? Sometimes it gets a little stuffy with it on," Luz said, and Amity waved her hand as to tell her to go ahead. The reaper rose from her seat, first removing her beanie from her head and sitting it down on the table, letting her brown locks flow freely, perfectly framing her face. She shrugged off her cloak before walking back to hang it neatly on her scythe.

Amity choked on her drink, heat rising to her cheeks from seeing the girl without her cloak on. The reaper was wearing a red tank top underneath, exposing more of her glowing, caramel skin and a pair of muscular looking arms. The girl raised her arms above her head, stretching and causing her back muscles to flex and tense, sending a tingling sensation in the pit of the human's stomach. She turned back to her, a dazzling smile that sent an arrow straight through Amity's heart, which was replaced with a look of concern as she stared at Amity's reddening face.

"Are you okay? Your face is a bit red," Luz said as she sat back down in her seat.

"Gay. I mean okay! I'm okay!" Amity shook her head, nails digging into the palm of her hand, hoping the pain would make her start thinking straight, something that was truly ironic given the girl sitting in front of her. "I'm just a little shell-shocked over, well, _you_."

"That's understandable. Just take your time and relax, ask whatever you'd like," Luz said in a calm tone, understanding exactly where Amity was coming from. Luz had acted the same way when she first met Death.

"Right, right. Okay, so let's knock the biggest one out of the way first," Amity said. "Are you _the_ Grim Reaper?"

"No, I'm _a_ grim reaper, but not _the_ Grim Reaper. That would be Death."

"Okay, and who is 'Death' exactly?"

"Death is, or _was_ , the original Grim Reaper, a deity much like God and Satan. Death, God, and Satan have been around since the beginning."

"So God and heaven, Satan and hell, all that stuff actually exists?" Amity asked, trying to wrap her head around it. She was a believer when she was a child, but lost such faith due to how cruel her parents could be. They had forced her to end countless friendships and forced her into several relationships throughout her youth, all of which, thankfully, had failed.

"Yup. God oversees Heaven, Satan oversees Hell, and Death oversees 'The Void,' which is where other grim reapers, such as myself, live."

"Where did they come from? How was the universe made?"

"No one, not even the three of them, truly knows _where_ they came from. They just sort of... popped up out of nowhere, I guess?" Luz said. "As for the universe, well, that was thanks to them. Death told me how it all went down. At the beginning, there was nothing but the three of them and their realms. No planets, stars, or anything like that. Satan and God would often clash, and one day, Death had enough. Death joined the fight, and with their powers combined, the universe was created."

"So they caused the Big Bang?" Amity asked, and Luz nodded.

"Yes. They were the reason behind the Big Bang. They took earth and started molding it into a liveable planet, introducing new life and evolution. God, Satan, and Death helped with the designs and names for the various animals, and eventually, man itself. But Satan is an _asshole_ , so that's why snakes don't have legs and centipedes have 100," she said. "Interesting fact, snakes were originally supposed to have four legs, like a dog or cat," Luz said, causing Amity to snort at the imagery of a snake running on four legs. It was a cute, albeit, terrifying thing to imagine.

"Earlier you said Death _was_ the original Grim Reaper. Is he no longer a grim reaper?"

"Well first off, Death has no gender, unlike God and Satan. We use the pronouns it, they, and them for Death," Luz said. "And, no, Death retired from being Grim Reaper millions of years ago due to depression. This job of ours, it starts getting to you after a while, especially when the souls of children are involved," Luz said, and Amity nodded in understanding.

"What does Death do now that _it_ is no longer a grim reaper?"

"When a human or animal dies, we collect the soul and bring it back to Death for judgment. Death decides whether the soul goes to heaven or hell. Death knows what the soul has done in the past, and uses that to decide where you end up."

"Earlier you summoned your scythe. What kind of powers do grim reapers have?"

"Well, we can turn tangible and intangible, we can walk through any material like stone and metal, we can float, we can use our scythes to summon portals that allow us to travel all over the world and to different realms, we can talk to animals—"

"You can talk to animals?" Amity cut her off with a gasp, eyes sparkling with childlike wonder and excitement. "That's so cool! I would _love_ to talk to animals! What do they say? Do they have cute little accents? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Amity begged, overwhelming Luz with her sudden and explosive excitement. The reaper laughed and scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

"Yes, we can talk to animals. They say exactly what you'd expect, like 'give me food' or 'let's go for a walk' or even 'fuck you, squirrel'," she said, causing the human to snort in laughter. "And yes, they have accents, and it usually depends on the breed. German Shepherds sound German, kangaroos sound Australian, beavers sound Canadian, etc," Luz explained before snapping her fingers. "Oh yeah, we have one more power. It's called 'death touch.'"

"Death touch?" Amity asked, already wary of the frightening name.

"When a reaper uses this power, anyone or anything they touch dies instantly."

"So you use it by touch? But you've touched me several times since you got here. How haven't I died?"

"It's a power we reapers can turn on and off, kind of like a lightswitch," Luz said. "I always have mine off, as do many other reapers. Some other reapers, however—"

"Don't turn it off," Amity said, putting two and two together. "So reapers can kill whoever? They can kill as many people as they want?"

"No, reapers have a limit to how much we can kill. Once that total is reached, we're fired, and Death determines where we go. If you reach your limit by killing people who are suffering, already close to dying with no way or hope of living, Death spares you. If you reach your limit by mindlessly killing, Death punishes you," Luz said. "In fact, these bloodthirsty grim reapers have played a part in several of the greatest tragedies in the human world. The Titanic, the Hindenburg, World War I, and the Abe Lincoln and JFK assassinations among others," she said, causing Amity's eyes to widen.

"Why do some reapers do that? What's the point in killing so many innocent people?" Amity asked, causing Luz to sigh.

"It's...hard to say, really. I think some people get a taste of it and can't stop, like an addiction. Or they just go crazy after a while. Sorry, that question is kind of difficult to answer," Luz said while scratching the back of her head.

"It's okay. So do people die randomly? Or does everyone have a specific time that they die?"

"Specific time. Everyone has a 'death clock' that counts down to the very last second until they die. Only Death can see these clocks. Death can sense when it's about to happen. Sometimes, Death will send us to collect the souls of someone seconds before they die. That way we can get it over and done with."

"How does one become a grim reaper? How are they chosen?"

"It's completely random," Luz answered. "Once a reaper retires or is fired, anyone who dies within a few seconds of the exact time can be offered the job. Death tries to keep violent criminals and children from getting the offer, but sometimes even Death makes a mistake. None of the deities are truly perfect, despite what humans will tell you."

"What's it like? Being a grim reaper?"

"It's...a mixed bag, I guess," Luz said, circling the top of her glass with her finger. "It's cool to do what we do, walking through walls, talking to animals, helping souls move on and going to heaven or collecting the rotten ones and watching as they get sent to hell. But sometimes it weighs on you, ya know? It's hard seeing souls cry out to their loved ones, begging for one final chance to say something to them or to touch and hold or kiss them one final time. It's especially hard when it's a child; some don't even know they're dead, they just think their parents are ignoring them, so they'll beg and scream and _cry_ for their parents to acknowledge them when there's no point," Luz said with a far away look in her eye. How many souls of children has she had to collect over the years? Hundreds? It never got easier; she wasn't like some reapers who could flip off their emotions and become a stone-cold statue. "Then there's the rules we must follow."

"Rules?"

"Mmm hmm. Death has three rules all reapers must follow. No falling in love with humans, no saving a human when it's their time to die, and don't let humans know you exist. As you can clearly see, I'm currently breaking the last one," Luz chuckled, lying, keeping it a secret she had broken all three.

"You're breaking one of the rules for me?" Amity asked, surprised, a sudden fluttering in her chest from finding out Luz was breaking such an important rule for _her_ of all people. As dumb as it sounded, it made her feel special. "If I may ask, why _are_ you breaking a rule for me?" she asked, causing a nervous shiver to run down Luz's spine. She had been waiting for this question; she just wished Amity wouldn't have asked it.

"Someone close to you requested I watch over you in order to keep you safe," Luz said, lying in panic. She regretted the words immediately once they left her mouth, but it was too late to backtrack now. She watched as Amity's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in confusion.

"Really? Who?"

"Your uncle, Tony Blight," she said, feeling awful for using the poor soul for such a dastardly lie. She watched as the human's eyes widened again in shock and disbelief. "He was there at his funeral, and I was the one to collect his soul. He said goodbye to a few people. Well, _tried_ to anyway, and he saved you for last. He asked me to look over you, to make sure you'd be okay."

"He did that for me?" she asked, a warm and wobbly smile gracing her face. Tears started forming in the corner of her eyes and she started sniffling, prompting Luz to reach over and grab the tissue box off of the counter before sitting it in front of the girl. "Thank you. Sorry, it's still hard not having him around," Amity said, wiping her eyes free of her tears.

"No need to apologize; you two were close. After all, he was the father you never had," Luz said with a smile, and was met with a look of confusion. "I stuck around for the eulogy. And before you ask, don't worry, Death sent him to heaven for all his good deeds."

"Well, tell Death I said thank you," Amity said with a small smile, feeling better that her uncle went to heaven instead of hell. "What are the consequences for breaking these rules? How much trouble can you get in?"

"The consequences are severe. I can be fired and sent straight to hell as punishment. But Satan really likes me, so I doubt he'd torture me like he does the other unruly souls," Luz said, taking a sip of her coffee as Amity focused on she had just been told. Luz was breaking one these seemingly sacred and important rules, risking her job and life (afterlife?) all for her? It was getting harder to ignore the fluttering in her chest, so she shook her head and decided to ask something else.

"How-How did you die?" she asked, and immediately regretted the question once she saw Luz freeze up. The temperature in the room seemed to drop, and the reaper across from her frowned, a sudden sad look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I knew that was a personal question and I shouldn't have asked and—"

"It's fine," Luz said, cutting her off. "I had a feeling you were going to ask that; it just never gets easy to talk about."

"You don't have to answer it."

"I don't 'have' to, but I want to," she said with a reassuring smile before taking a deep breath, readying herself. "I was 12 years old when it happened. My mother and I were asleep one night when a loud crash woke us up. She told me to stay in my room while she went to check it out. After a few minutes I could hear her scream and rushed down the stairs, only to see two men standing over her. I rushed in without thinking and jumped on one of their backs. I kept punching him, even grabbing a nearby vase to hit him over the head. Eventually he threw me off, and I ended up tearing his mask off. I got back up and his buddy...his buddy…" she trailed off, swallowing thickly as she clutched her chest. She fought back the tears as she slowly felt them forming in the corner of his eyes. She was startled for a second when she felt something brush against her hand and looked up to see Amity stroking it, letting her know she was here for her.

"His buddy panicked, and he shot me square in the chest. I can still remember my mother screaming, crying as she leaned over me, trying to stop the bleeding. The one guy started yelling at the man who shot me, saying it was supposed to be a simple robbery, not a homicide. His buddy said they couldn't leave any loose ends, and the next thing I knew my mother fell on top of me. We both died that night, and the next thing I knew, I was awake in front of Death itself."

"You were one of the...well, mistakes, I guess you could say," Amity said, putting two and two together and discovering Luz had been a child Death had accidentally offered the job to. Luz nodded, taking her hand back from Amity to wipe her eyes.

"Yes, Death offered me the job that day. I was young and scared and accepted without thinking it through. I've been a reaper ever since, and my mother was sent to heaven to become an angel," Luz said. "I still think about that day, and what would've happened had we not died. The sad thing is, my mother and I were getting ready to move the next day, and I was getting ready to attend a new middle school. It was called, uh…" Luz trailed off, snapping her fingers in hopes of remembering. "Oakwood Middle!" she said, the name finally coming back to her. She missed how Amity's eyes widened at the sudden information.

"You were going to attend Oakwood Middle? You're 22 and you died at age 12, so that would've been 10 years ago," she said, and Luz nodded. "What a coincidence! I switched middle schools that same year and went to Oakwood!" she revealed, causing Luz to laugh.

"Ha! Well what do ya know, maybe in another timeline, we would've been friends," Luz said, noticing how Amity's smile faltered.

"Are we not friends now?" she asked, the look in her eyes tugging at Luz's dead heart.

"I mean, I would _like_ to be. It's nice talking to someone other than Eda and King," Luz said, and Amity gave her another confused look. "They're friends of mine back in The Void, I'll tell you about them some other time. Plus, I never actually had any friends back when I was alive...maybe it's time to change that?"

"Well then, it's settled. From now on, we're friends," Amity said with a small smile, causing Luz to grin.

Friends. Okay, that was a good start. One of Luz's _favorite_ tropes was friends to lovers, and if she played her cards right, maybe her life would end up just like those shows she watched. But maybe she could speed up the process a bit? She grew bold and reached over, grabbing Amity's hand and holding it gently, thumb gingerly brushing against her knuckles.

"You know, I never had a girlfriend before either," she said, staring Amity directly in the eye. She smiled as she watched the human's once pale face turn a bright red, and as she started stuttering, trying to come up with a response.

Things were certainly going to be interesting from now on.

**(The Void)**

"Edaaaaaa, she's sooooo nice!" Luz groaned as she laid down on the couch. "And she's really pretty, and cute, and she smells nice! And, and she barely even freaked out when I showed her that I'm a reaper!"

"You really have it bad kid," Eda said, taking a sip of her apple blood as she sat in her chair. "Just try to be careful, okay? You are breaking Death's rules, after all."

"I don't even know why you're bothering to break them over some dumb human. Just wait for her to die and _then_ spend time with her. It's so simple!" King exclaimed from the armrest of Eda's chair. Eda sighed before summoning her scythe and opening a portal before she grabbed King by his tail.

"Why don't you go hangout with Satan for a little while?" Eda said as she dangled the demon above the portal. King yelped and tried reaching up to grab onto Eda's arm.

"Wait, please, no! He dresses me up in doll clothes and makes me do funny dances!" King begged before screaming as Eda dropped him into the portal, which closed right after.

"Ignore him. Like I said, just be careful. And if she breaks your heart, I'm breaking her," Eda warned, causing Luz to snort.

"Thanks _mom_ , but I'll be fine! Amity is nice, she won't do anything to 'break my heart,'" Luz said.

At least, she hoped the human wouldn't. The girl seemed kind and caring, definitely not the type that would play with Luz's emotions. She wasn't one of those mean girls who had tricked Luz into thinking they had liked her back. Amity was different, she was sure of it! She couldn't wait to spend time with the girl and get to know her better!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Here it is! Chapter 4 baby! Sorry for it taking so long, I've been really into writing my "10 ways to get a human to love you" Owl House fanfic, and school just started back up so that'll keep me busy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll try to get 5 out without it taking so long, lol.**
> 
> **A couple of announcements. I have an Instagram, Twitter, and Discord server now! My Instagram is ghost509_, my twitter is ghost5091, and heres the Discord invite link!**
> 
> **https://discord.gg/sRPA8vkEbP**
> 
> **I don't really think I have much to add. I hope you enjoyed! Join me next time when Luz meets a few of Amity's friends! See ya in chapter 5!**

**Author's Note:**

> **Welcome everyone to my 1st first Owl House AU, and my 2nd ever Owl House fanfiction! This is the first story of its kind, which I'm very proud and excited of. I've had this story for a while now but wanted to wait until I finished my current Owl House fic before writing this one. But as I said in the notes before this chapter, I have no self-control. So here we are! I really hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy the other Owl House fic I currently have out ("10 Ways To Get A Human To Fall In Love With You") and the other AUs I have planned, which I'll list off in the next chapter of this fic. Oooooor if you wanna see it sooner, in chapter 9 of "10 Ways To Get A Human To Fall In Love With You" (shameless self plug is very shameless).**
> 
> **I hope you'll join me on this journey as Luz fights tooth, nail, and scythe to keep Amity safe. I can't wait to expand this universe and show you everything I have in store for this stories lore. Feel free to ask any questions about this world and I'll answer them (unless of course the answer is a spoiler or if it'll be revealed in a chapter later on). I'll also take questions about myself and whatnot, so go nuts.**
> 
> **Quick question. I'm wanting to get to know everyone better and whatnot. I have a twitter already made (@ghost5091) but would Instagram be better? What do you all use more? Let me know!**
> 
> **I think that's it for the notes, for now at least. Join me next time as Luz breaks yet another one of Deaths rules. See ya in chapter 2!**


End file.
